Soulmates
by SamanthaYoung-Park
Summary: What if Draco was never prejudiced against muggles and muggleborns? What if he was pretending the entire time? What if he and Hermione had been friends since first year? How will their houses and friends react when the truth comes out? Especially when they realize that they're soulmates. Non-Cannon. Dramonie.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 ** _Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling._**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The scent of blueberry waffles wafted across his face as he slowly opened his eyes to see the already risen sun staring at him from a cloudless sky. Draco Malfoy stretched his hands out as he twisted his body left to right on the twin sized bed. He yawned and pulled himself to sit up as he looked around the small guest room he had been living in for the past month and a half.

The small wooden work desk, that was still covered with his new school books, which he had already begun to study, stood in front of the small white laced curtain covered window. He inhaled the vanilla scent that always engulfed the room and smiled as the scent of those freshly made waffles reached his nose again. He swung his legs off the bed and stood up, stretching his full body once more before his eyes moved to the opened letter on the night stand table next to the bed.

He had read the letter at least five times, but the contents never changed. The letter was sent by his father and it was simple…precise…and to the point. He was ordered to accompany his father to the Quidditch World Cup that weekend, which meant he had to return home by tonight. His summer vacation was, in effect, being cut short by a full week. This angered him immensely because he had yet to accomplish his goal of this vacation.

He sighed to himself and walked over to the small ensuite bathroom and washed his face quickly before staring at himself in the mirror. He had grown another few inches over the summer and was now standing tall at 5'9. His pale blond hair had grown out again and was now hanging down in front of his grey eyes. He should cut it. But, she liked how his hair looked when it was long, and that reason alone made him stray from cutting his hair until the day before the Hogwarts Train departed.

"Draco! Breakfast is ready!" her sweet and relaxing voice reached his ears.

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute!" Draco yelled back.

He splashed water onto his face once more before walking out of the guest room, that had quickly turned into his room over the past 3 summers, and into the familiar hallways of the house he had come to love and appreciate. He made his way down the narrow staircase and stood in front of the kitchen, staring at the happy family sitting around their breakfast nook.

The father was busy reading his morning newspaper while the mother and daughter discussed in earnest about their upcoming annual mother/daughter shopping trip.

"I do need some new night shirts to sleep in." the daughter said softly as she began to chew on her waffle. "Oh, and Ron just wrote to me. His father has an extra ticket to the Quidditch World Cup, so he wanted to invite me to go. It's this weekend … but I'm going to turn them down because I want more time with Draco first."

"It's fine, Hermione." Draco cleared his throat and entered the kitchen, taking a seat next to her. He shoveled some waffles onto his plate and drenched it with syrup before turning to face Hermione. "My dad wrote last night and demanded that I come home tonight and attend the World Cup with him."

"So, you're leaving tonight?" Hermione's face fell. It was a look that she rarely showed, and when she did, she only showed it to Draco.

Draco slowly nodded his head and looked down before shoving a piece of waffle into his mouth. He knew that if he stared at her some more he would be compelled to reach over and hold her tightly. Something that he wasn't ready to do yet. Sure, they've hugged countless times, ever since their first year. But holding her…the way he wanted to…well that was taking their feelings to a completely new level.

"Well then, we should do everything we can today!" Hermione announced in a positive tone. "School is only a week away, and besides, we'll see each other at the world cup. I'll write to Ron now and tell him that I'll accept."

Draco nodded again as she stood up and left the kitchen. He knew that she was going to pout in her room for at least fifteen minutes before she actually wrote anything to that dumb redhead. Draco gripped his fork tightly, causing Mrs. Granger to gently place a hand over his own, alerting him to loosen his grip.

"You'll see each other at school, Draco." She tried to console. "It'll be alright."

"Yeah." He mumbled, shoveling the rest of his food into his mouth.

He loved Hogwarts … it was like a second home to him … but he hated the façade he had to always portray. He had been acting his entire life, so one would think that he was an expert by now. But still, it pained him because he hated to hurt Hermione's feelings. She was the only true friend he had, and if anything happened to her, he knew that he would never be able to live with himself.

He remembered the first day he realized that they were going to be best friends. It was during their first year, while making his own little study space in the library, he had seen her from across the room. She had made a space similar to his; textbooks organized the same way, mountains of parchment, and one single non-school book to read when they needed a break. She was an overachiever, just like he secretly was. He hadn't been aware then that she was muggleborn, so he had walked over to her and introduced himself to her. After that, they came to the library separately, 3 times a week, to study together.

They became close very fast, and once he found out that she was, indeed, muggleborn, none of it mattered at that point. The only person who had a problem with that was the Slytherin-loving, fake Draco. However, after he explained his difficult situation to her, she quickly understood and agreed to keep their friendship a secret.

As she made friends with Harry and Ron, it became slightly harder to keep their relationship secretive because the boys wanted to always be near her, especially when it came to doing homework. But, since they hated the library, she always used that excuse to go study or hang out with Draco. The only person who caught on to their secretive meetings was the librarian, but she always kept things to herself.

Their first year ended with Hermione accompanying Harry and Ron to the third floor in search of protecting the sorcerer's stone. She had been grateful then to have a friend like Draco, because he was the one who had told her about the devil's snare plant. But, the end of their first year led to the beginning of their summer visits.

After writing to each other constantly during the first few days, Mr. and Mrs. Granger agreed to let Hermione invite Draco over for a few weeks. Well, a few weeks quickly became the entire summer. His mother, who had learnt about Hermione and fully supported their secret relationship because she had never seen her son so human and happy before, helped him cover up his real summer by crafting a fake one to her husband. As far as Lucius was concerned, his son was hanging out with his Slytherin mates all summer, under the watchful eye of his wife.

They learnt even more about each other than before that summer, and the bond of friendship was so secure that nothing could tear through it. The impending start of their second year came with some new surprises. Draco had been ordered by his father to join the Slytherin's Quidditch team, which he never wanted to do. He loved playing Quidditch for fun, and fun only.

What he hated the most that year though was the fact that he still had to keep their friendship a secret. Calling her a mudblood, in front of everyone, although she knew it was going to happen, hurt him more than he would ever admit. He had seen the slight spark in her eyes when he had said the word, and he knew that even though she knew he didn't mean it, she was still slightly hurt.

He had apologized to her profusely that night in the library, and a tight hug from her was all he needed to know that she wasn't hurt anymore. The rest of the year was interesting and slightly scary with all the students being petrified and the Chamber of Secrets being open. He had secretly worked with Hermione throughout the year; giving her advice on her polyjuice potion, and helping her figure out what was petrifying all the students.

He almost lost his mind when he heard that she had been petrified, right after they had finally figured out that it was a Basilisk in the Chamber. He knew that Harry and Ron were going down to the Chamber, and had opted to stay at Hermione's side the entire time she was petrified.

Madame Pomfrey knew about their secret relationship then and she knowingly kept their secret. Draco spent every night, laying in a cot next to Hermione until Professor Sprout's mandrakes were ready. He only left when Harry and Ron came to briefly visit Hermione.

As he stared down at her, in her petrified state, he knew then that his feelings for her were much stronger than just friendship. He knew then that he couldn't survive if anything happened to her. The second the life in her eyes returned, he had pulled her into a back breaking hug and cried. He had no issues with letting his guard down in front of her and allowing her to see him cry. He trusted her explicitly.

They spent the entire summer together again then. Draco had quickly become a member of the Granger family, and her parents understood their secretive relationship at school once they had explained the way of the wizarding world. Their summer vacations had quickly become Draco's happiest memories.

As third year approached them, Draco had wanted to tell her about his growing feelings, but the right moment never seemed to arise. The third year seemed to fly by them quickly. The only major thing that happened for him was being attacked by a hippogriff. He had begged his father to leave it be and not try anything, but of course, the Malfoy name must be upheld. He explained to Hermione that his hands were tied when it came it the Hippogriff's fate, and Hermione had understood.

Getting punched by her was another agreed plan to keep their friends at bay from discovering their secret relationship. The more fake animosity they showed to each other in public, the less suspicious looks they received. What he hadn't taken into account was how hard she could punch. She had seen him in the library the next day and apologized repeatedly before she had explained what had happed with Harry, Sirus Black and Professor Lupin.

He was surprised to hear that Peter Pettigrew was alive and had been in animagus form for years. It made him want to become and animagus himself. What worried him was the sudden chill in the air that greeted him as he returned to the Malfoy Manor at the beginning of that summer. The change in the air was clear and scary enough that his mother had insisted he go by Hermione as soon as he could.

So, he left the next day and had been spending every day since with Hermione and her family. They read together, watched tv together and listened to music a lot. They did many muggle things that he knew he would get teased and shunned for if his house mates found out.

"Hermione?" he knocked on her door as she scribbled away on a piece of parchment. Crookshanks, her loving cat sauntered over to him and rubbed against his leg slightly before walking off. "Are you ok?"

"Yes." Hermione sighed. "I just didn't want summer to be over for us just yet."

"Neither do I." Draco moved to sit next to her on the bed. "Thank you … for being so loyal to me …"

"I'd do anything for you, Draco." Hermione admitted. "You're my best friend."

Draco nodded and hugged her tightly. That was all he needed to hear at the moment. He kissed her forehead and hugged her again before pulling a new text book from her night stand onto his lap.

"Let's study a bit." He suggested.

Hermione's eyes lit up as she nodded.

* * *

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _So, here's the first chapter. I'm picking up from beginning of the 4_** ** _th_** ** _book, onwards. I hope you all like it. If you do, please leave a comment below!_** ** _J_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Remember, not everything is going to be exactly the same as the books. I'm changing the plot a lot to match the story I'm trying to create! I hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment after!_**

 ** _Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling._**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Hermione smiled to herself as she spotted the crazy structured house that they all happily called 'The Burrow'. She clutched her trunk and waved goodbye to her parents as she made her way up to the front door of her third home. She knocked hard, assuming that everyone was probably still asleep, but luckily for her Molly Weasley opened the door quickly and ushered her in after embracing her in a back breaking hug. The familiar scent of homemade biscuits and meat pies greeted Hermione as she hugged her second mother tightly.

"Oh dear, I wish you could have gotten here last night." Molly rattled off. "It would have been nice to spend some time together before you left with the others to the World Cup. Have you eaten breakfast? Hmm, of course not. It's too early. Oh where are your parents? They should come inside too for breakfast. Let me go get them. Are they still out there?"

"They're rushing to meet a few of their friends for a morning hike." Hermione answered quickly before the mother figure could waste her time. "I'm sorry, I just wanted some extra time with them before coming here and starting school next week. And no, I haven't eaten yet."

"As I suspected." Molly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen.

Hermione was instantly pulled away and engulfed into another tight hug from a slightly smaller person, but with the same fiery red hair as everyone else in the family. Hermione squealed in joy as she clung tightly to Ginny, the youngest Weasley.

"How was your summer?" Ginny asked as she pulled away, spotting the freshly made meat pies her mother was pulling out of the oven. She slide over to the counter and plucked one off the tray, nibbling on it lightly. "Mmm, mom, this is amazing. Hermione, try one."

"Yes, yes, go ahead!" Molly gestured for Hermione.

Hermione nodded excitedly and moved to stand next to Ginny, tasting the savory treat herself. She moaned in pleasure as she glanced out the window at the gardens and swamp beyond. The sun was just getting ready to rise and Hermione wondered when they were leaving for the stadium.

"Hmm, Hermione dear, would you be so kind as to run upstairs and wake up Ron and Harry? Breakfast is ready and you all must be off within the hour." Molly asked.

Hermione nodded and made a move to the stairs before two pairs of arms quickly embraced her.

"Ello 'Mione!" Fred and George said at the same time. "We missed you this summer!"

"You missed being able to play pranks on me." Hermione corrected.

"Same thing either way." Fred chuckled.

"I'm sure you've missed us too." George winked.

"Hmph." Hermione gave them a teasing smile before ascending the stairs.

She smiled to herself as she heard Molly tell the twins to not eat the meat pies because they were meant to be taken with them to the world cup. She understood why Molly spoiled Ginny sometimes. She was the only girl in the family after all.

Hermione pushed open the door to Ron's room and spotted Ron snoring on his bed, half covered by his blanket, while Harry was shaking slightly in his cot, sweat dripping down his forehead and cheeks. She knew he was having yet another nightmare. He had written to her over the summer, telling her that they had returned recently and he didn't know why. She had promised to look into it but couldn't find anything that would give them answers. She sighed, now seeing firsthand how the nightmares made him look.

She walked over to Harry's cot and shook him hard, wanting to wake him up from the dream.

"Harry!" she yelled down to him as she shook him.

Harry inhaled sharply as his eyes shot open, a look of terror on his face before realizing that it was Hermione. He smiled slightly as his body instantly relaxed.

"Hermione…hey." Harry murmured. "When did you get here?"

"Just now." Hermione answered quickly, moving over to Ron's bed, knowing that Harry wasn't about to reveal his dream just yet. "You?"

"A few days ago." Harry cleared his throat and sat up.

"Come on, Mrs. Weasley is ready with breakfast and we have to leave soon." Hermione grabbed a fallen pillow from the floor and wacked Ron's face with it. "Ron! Get up! Breakfast is ready and we have to go!"

Ron's eyes shot open as he sniffed the air around him.

"Mmm, yes…meat pies." He sat up quickly and pulled on his shirt. "Oh, hey 'Mione."

Hermione rolled her eyes and ran back down to the breakfast table. She sat down and began eating from the different dishes that Mrs. Weasley had laid out. Everyone slowly made their way to the table and began shoveling food into their mouths rushing to be on their way.

Once breakfast was done, Mr. Weasley rushed them all out of the house, leaving a tear stricken Molly to stare after them. They hiked for almost an hour before reaching the top of a hill.

"Blimey dad, I didn't know we were walking to the World Cup!" George complained.

"We're not walking. We're taking that." Mr. Weasley pointed to a random old dirty boot. "We're just waiting for Amos and his son."

"We're taking…a boot?" Fred frowned slightly. "I think dad's finally lost it."

"It's a portkey!" Hermione gasped as realization dawned on her.

She and Draco were reading about them earlier in the summer and he had expressed how much he wished he could try one, but it was apparently not a very common thing for upper class families to use. She knew she would write to him about this once they got back. He would be very interested in knowing how it felt to use one.

After a few minutes of waiting, a shaggy haired man with glasses appeared with a tall handsome teenager at his side.

"Amos!" Mr. Weasley greeted.

"Oh wow, I thought we would be late." Mr. Diggory shook Arthur's hand. "So, shall we?"

"That's Cedric Diggory." Ginny whispered to Hermione. "He's the Hufflepuff seeker, and all the girls love him. Now I can see why."

Hermione stared up at Cedric as he met her gaze with a heartbreaker smile. She returned the smile, noting his grey eyes, but felt nothing except the unnerving want to stare into a different pair of grey eyes.

"Come on everyone. Touch the boot, because it's almost time!" Mr. Weasley ordered.

Everyone gathered around the mangy old boot and touched a piece of it quickly. After a few seconds, Hermione was pulled into a spinning vortex. Her stomach did somersaults as she flew through time and space, screaming with everyone else around her before landing on a soft grass patch with a loud thud. Everyone around her looked up as Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric easily floated down towards them.

"Alright Arthur, enjoy the game!" Mr. Diggory clapped him on the back and walked off with Cedric.

"See you at school Cedric." Fred and George nodded to him.

Cedric gave them all a winning smile before following his father towards their tent.

"Come along everyone." Mr. Weasley walked them through the loud and busy camp ground towards their tent.

They spotted many other students from Hogwarts there, such as Lee Jordan, Seamus Finnigan, the Patil twins, and Lavender Brown, who was giving Ron a longing look that Hermione noticed clearly. Once they got to the tent Hermione was amazed at how huge and spacious the inside was. Even though she would have to share a bed with Ginny, it was still big enough for them all to have fun in.

"This is amazing, Mr. Weasley!" Hermione gushed as she followed Ginny to the girl's section of the tent.

"I'm glad you approve!" Mr. Weasley beamed with pride, having felt relief that his family loved his choice of living quarters, even though he had to dish out more money than he had intended. Seeing them so happy was worth every sickle.

"Can we walk around and explore a bit?" Ron wondered.

"I don't see why not." Mr. Weasley smiled at them. "Just stick together ok?"

They all dropped their bags, except for Hermione and left the tent to go in search of their other classmates. Hermione watched them leave, noticing that they didn't even realize she had chosen to stay behind. She smiled at Mr. Weasley and pulled out a book to do a bit of light reading.

"I'm going to say hello to a few work friends. Are you going to be ok here by yourself?" Mr. Weasley wondered.

"Yes." Hermione reassured him. "I have my wand with me in case anything happens."

Mr. Weasley nodded his head and swept out of the room. Once the coast was clear, Hermione threw her book aside and switched into a red jacket, which she knew Draco would recognize, and made her way out of the tent, towards the woods where they had agreed to meet briefly in their letter exchanges yesterday, with her tiny backpack secured on her shoulders.

She walked for almost fifteen minutes into the woods before a familiar cold hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her behind some bushes, hiding her from the main walking path. She twirled to face the person, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

She wouldn't deny that she had missed him for most of the past week. She was so accustomed to spending the entire summer with him that it pained her heart to have to say good bye almost two weeks early. Draco pulled her against his chest, burying his face in the sweet strawberry scent that erupted from her bushy brown hair.

"Are you ok?" Hermione hurriedly asked.

She pulled away and frowned as she already noted the sullen look on his face. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days and she knew that the source of his sudden change in physical appearance was his father. She sighed and hugged him again, noticing how her entire body relaxed by itself the minute she was in his arms, but quickly pushed that thought to the side.

"I missed you." Draco uncharacteristically admitted.

The past few days, particularly the nights, had been torture for him. His father had decided to try out some new spells on him, as if he was a lab rat, and his mother could do nothing except stand by and watch with tears in her eyes. Draco only took his ministrations because if he didn't, he knew his mother would have to take it.

"I missed you too." Hermione sighed and reluctantly pulled away. "I sneaked something for you."

She pulled out a meat pie from her backpack and smiled as Draco's face lit up. As much as Draco hated the Weasley's, he would never deny that he had an obsession for Molly Weasley's cooking. During the school year, Hermione often shared little treats that Molly would randomly send her and Harry, and Draco had fallen in love with them all.

He bit into the pie, savoring it's perfectly seasoned taste before shoving the entire concoction into his mouth. Hermione frowned, realizing quickly that he once again wasn't eating at the Manor.

"Can you meet me here tonight? After the match?" she wondered.

"Yes, why?" he raised an eye brow at her.

"I'll bring you more food." She sighed. "I know you're not eating."

"It's just one more week, Hermione." Draco tried to reassure her. "Then all will be right again."

"That's not good enough for me." Hermione snapped and then gave him a pout that only he had ever seen before. "Please…Draco…let me bring you some more treats."

"You know I'll never say no to that face." He rolled his eyes and pulled her in for another tight hug. "I should get back."

"So should I." she glanced down at her watch.

Draco looked around them slightly and frowned to himself. Something didn't seem right. Ever since he had arrived here with his father, something seemed off, but he just shoved that thought aside and smiled down at Hermione. There was no need to worry her. He knew that her friends caused her to worry enough already.

"Let's meet back here around…midnight?" he suggested.

She readily agreed and pulled away from his embrace, walking back out onto the path. She knew that he would never leave first. She couldn't explain the unshed tears that stung her eyes, or the feeling of dread that entered her body as she walked away from Draco. She felt as if something significant was about to happen, but she had not the slightest idea what it was.

She made it back to the tent before anyone else returned and quickly shrugged off her jacket, flopping back onto the cot and reading her book once more. After another fifteen minutes of waiting, everyone fell into the tent, laughing happily amongst themselves, not even noticing that she was in the room. She pushed that thought aside as well. It would do her no good to ponder over such things. These were her best friends after all and they loved her.

"Ok everyone, let's get our fan gear on and head to the stadium!" Mr. Weasley announced.

"The Bulgarians are going to win for sure." Ron shouted as he grabbed his Bulgarian hat. "They have the best seeker in the world. No one can beat Krum."

"You sound like you want to shag him, Ron." Fred teased.

"Piss off." Ron glared at his brother while everyone else laughed. He glanced over at Hermione and smiled slightly. "See, told you guys that she was just reading. Blimey Hermione, you need to come out and have some fun with us sometimes!"

Hermione just shook her head and stood up, ready to accompany them to her first Quidditch World Cup match.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The chaos at the Quidditch match amongst the fans was nothing compared to the chaos that ensued a couple hours after the game. No one knew what was really going on, but they knew that they were being attacked. A lot of people had, luckily, returned to their portkeys and disappeared, but a lot of witches and wizards were still at the stadium, running for their lives.

Hermione wasn't naïve. She knew that they were being attacked by Death Eaters. As she ran with Ron and the other Weasleys into the safety of the forest, she had spotted numerous people wearing Death Eater masks. She didn't think Ron realized yet, since he was the most oblivious one in the group, but Harry was sure to know. She glanced around, looking for Harry in particular but couldn't find a head with long shaggy black hair anywhere.

"Ron!" Hermione shouted as he grabbed his arm to stop him from running. "Where's Harry?!"

"What?" Ron looked around quickly, noting that his family was getting further and further away from where they had stopped. "Blimey, Hermione, I don't see him anywhere."

"We have to find him." Hermione concluded. "Those are Death Eaters attacking and I'm pretty sure they're after Harry."

"What do we do?" Ron wondered.

"We go back!" Hermione rolled her eyes and ran back the way they came, towards the campsite.

Fire and smoke made it hard for them to navigate their way, but determination never failed Hermione as she pushed through, covering her mouth with her t-shirt. She gasped as she spotted a head of white blond hair, standing 30 yards from her. She squinted a bit and smiled to herself as she recognized the warm silver eyes of her best friend.

Draco sighed in relief at the sight of Hermione and quickly pointed in the direction of where he had seen Harry Potter fall. He had watched as the crowds of people trampled over the boy who lived and left him unconscious on the damp muddy ground. The good side of him wanted to go over and help him up, but he felt that his assistance wouldn't go unnoticed by the passing Death Eaters. So he knew that being on the ground was the safest place for Harry at the moment. His mind had wandered to Hermione and he had run around the campsite looking for her. The longer it took to find her, the more his heart slowly dropped to his stomach.

But then he had spotted a head of bushy curly hair and knew it was her. Seeing her running from the forest towards the campsite with that Weasley made an emotion, that he hadn't felt in a while, bubble to the surface. He glared at the red head, but the second his eyes met Hermione's, his entire body relaxed. He noticed her looking around for something and assumed it was Harry, so he subtly pointed in the right direction, hoping she would notice. Of course, his brilliant witch noticed instantly, gave him a wide smile and ran off in Harry's unconscious direction.

Ron quickly followed Hermione, not having seen Draco at all, and looked around him for his best friend. The smoke was making it very difficult for him to see anything at all, so instead, he opted to just follow Hermione because she seemed to know where she was going.

"Harry!" Ron called out.

Hermione spun around on her heel and covered Ron's mouth with her hand.

"Are you crazy!?" she snapped. "You really want the Death Eaters to come here because they hear us looking for Harry?"

Ron grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his mouth.

"I'm sorry!" he mumbled. "I didn't realize."

"Honestly, Ron!" Hermione sighed exasperated. "Use your brain sometimes!"

She shook her head and kept running in the direction that Draco had pointed to until she spotted the mass of black hair she was looking for. The first thing she noticed was that he was breathing. The second thing she noticed was that he was conscious and looking up at someone who was swiftly walking towards him.

She looked around and quickly noticed that there was one other Death Eaters around. She knew what she had to do. She needed to make sure that the man approaching Harry knew he wasn't alone.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted, making the man turn to look in her direction.

She stood, rooted to her spot as she watched the man shoot sparks from his wand into the air before turning quickly and running off. She felt Ron's body stiffen next to her as she lifted her head to the sky, gasping and covering her mouth with her hand.

Hermione shook her head and returned to her task at hand, running over to Harry and falling to the ground next to him.

"Are you hurt?" she fired quickly. "What happened? I thought you were with us!"

Harry ignored her inquiries and focused on the image of a skull with a snake protruding out of its mouth in the dark sky. Harry allowed Hermione to pull him to his feet, but his eyes never left the sky. The popping of apparition made Harry and Hermione turn into concentration mode, knowing what was about to happen. They quickly ducked, pulling Ron down with them as numerous curses were fired at them.

"Which one of you did it!?" the sound of Bartemius Crouch's voice, the head of Magical Law Enforcement, echoed around them as he stepped forward, pointing his wand at the trio.

"What?!" Hermione gasped incredulously.

"They couldn't have, Barty, they're just kids." Kingsley Shacklebolt said as he lowered his wand, causing everyone else, except Barty, to do the same.

"Stop!" Mr. Weasley's voice sounded as he came running over to the group. "That's my son!"

"Sorry Arthur, but they were here when the spell was casted." Kingsley sighed.

"We didn't do it." Ron rushed out.

"Obviously, it has to have been a Death Eater." Arthur suggested.

"Death Eater?" Harry snapped. "You mean…"

He looked up at the sky, as everyone else looked up with him.

"You mean, that's …" Harry frowned.

"It's the Dark Mark Harry …" Hermione said softly. "His mark …"

"Voldemort!?" Harry breathed out. "Voldemort did this!?"

"No." Mr. Crouch shook his head. "But rogue Death Eaters probably did."

"I'm taking my kids to safety." Mr. Weasley stepped up to the trio. "Come on."

The trio kept quiet as they followed Mr. Weasley back to the portkey. This time, the sensations of the portkey travel did nothing to them since they were all in slight shock still. They walked down the hill towards the Burrow in complete silence, neither willing to discuss what had happened just yet … especially in front of Mr. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley hugged each of them tightly, as if the world was about to end, ensuring that they were all unhurt before allowing them to retire to their rooms for some well needed rest. Hermione looked over at Harry and knew instantly … just from the pensive look on his face … that things were about to change dramatically in their lives.

"You know that Sirius is going to want to hear about this … about everything." Hermione said softly. "Even the dreams."

Harry merely nodded and disappeared into Ron's room, leaving them both staring after him.

"He'll be fine, Hermione." Ron said gently, patting her shoulder lightly. "Harry can handle anything."

"Yes …" Hermione sighed and walked over to Ginny's room. "But he shouldn't have to."

She walked into Ginny's room, sighed in relief that Ginny was unhurt and asleep before crawling into her cot, trying to allow the much needed sleep to wash over her, but something in the back of her mind was bothering her and refusing to allow her access to her slumber. She stared at the ceiling as her thoughts quickly went to Draco, as it usually did before she went to bed. She wondered if he was alright … if he had gotten attacked as well … if he was eating. September 1st couldn't come fast enough for her.

As if reading her mind, a small raven began pecking against the glass window of the small bedroom. She hopped out of bed and quickly moved over to the window, opening it and allowing the raven to fly in. The regal creature perched itself at the edge of her bed, sticking it's leg out and waiting for her to untie the letter from its feet. Hermione smiled and made quick work of untying the letter before giving the bird she's had grown to love some left over meat pie from her backpack. She stroked its feathers lovingly before ripping the seal and reading the letter.

My Dearest Hermione,

Don't worry about me. I know you are, so stop! I'm fine. In case our friendship has caused you to forget, let me refresh your memory of our reality. My father is still a Death Eater. Therefore, the attack today didn't affect me. However, I was relieved to see that you were unhurt. I'm sorry that your first international Qudditch match resulted in those events. I must admit that my main concern was your safety at the time of the attack. You are my best friend, and the only reason for my humanity and saneness. If anything were to happen to you, I would be eternally lost.

I trust that you are now back at the Burrow and completely safe? How is Harry doing? I dare not ask about Ron because he looked like a frightened puppy. But most importantly … how are you? Remember, if you need me for anything, I'm only an owl away. I will find you if you need me, and I will help you with every resource I have.

Please try to have fun this week and forget about last night's attack. I'm looking forward to seeing you at Kings Cross on the 1st. Until then, be safe, and read your textbooks … like I'm doing.

Your Dearest Friend,

Draco.

Hermione closed the letter quickly as the unnoticed tears fell from her eyes and fell upon the black ink blots of the paper. She could tell that the letter was written in a rush and didn't want to think of what awaited him after his letter was written. She knew how hard things were for him at the moment and she wished she could help him somehow. But all she had was ink and paper.

"So much for sleep …" she muttered as she walked over to Ginny's desk, picked up the quill and dipped it into the pool of blackness.

She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, getting her emotions under control and pressed the quill down to the paper.

"My Dearest Draco…"

* * *

 **A/N**

 _ **I must apologize for the delay...my computer died and only got fixed this morning.**_

 _ **Now, in case anyone is wondering, this is how it's going to play out. Each school year and summer will have 3-4 chapters each. So, the next chapter will be the beginning of their 4th year.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Harry refused to talk to anyone for the rest of their time at the Burrow. The Weasleys tried to forget about everything by playing Quidditch every day, but even that wouldn't peek Harry's interest. Hermione was the only one who knew Harry's dilemma. It was obvious that if the events at the World Cup was caused by Death Eaters, then it was possible that they were rising up again, and most likely preparing to target Harry. Through their letters, both Hermione and Draco had arrived to that conclusion. Draco decided that for them to know for sure, he would have to infiltrate a bit, which meant being much nicer and supportive of his father. Although Hermione didn't like that idea, she knew that it was their best option at the moment.

So, for an entire week, Draco stayed by his father's side, enduring many dark curses thrown at him, including unforgivable ones. The only thing that kept him sane for that week was the daily letters from Hermione. In the meanwhile, Hermione had opted to do much more research on healing magic, knowing that Draco would need her when they got back to Hogwarts. She tried to stay near Harry during her time at the Burrow, just to reassure him that someone was there for him, but Harry still refused to talk. Mrs. Weasley was the only one to get through to Harry, but their conversations revolved around what he would like to eat for the day.

The train ride back to Hogwarts was a relatively quiet affair. Everyone was too busy trying to figure out why the need for dress robes was on their school list that year. Hermione assumed there would be some sort of formal dance, but the question of why was still unanswered.

Once they finally got to Hogwarts, they sat at their respective tables, chatting happily with everyone around them. Harry, especially, had begun talking again, now that he was back in the safety of the castle. During the feast, Hermione's eyes roamed over to the Slytherin table and came to rest on a pair of grey eyes staring directly at her. She wanted to smile at him, but knew that would just gain people's curiosity. So, she kept her face blank, while he gave her his usual fake glare.

"Why is Malfoy glaring at you, Hermione?" Ginny's voice rang out, bringing her back to reality.

"Because he's a slimy git, Gin!" Ron snapped. "Just ignore him and eat. This pudding is awesome."

Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes at Ron, who's face was, as usual, stuffed with food. They continued to eat in silence before Hermione stood up and waved good bye to everyone.

"Where are you going?" Harry wondered. "It's the first night."

"I just want to see what new books the library has this year." Hermione lied. "I'll be back in the common room in an hour."

"Damn, 'mione, you need to give it a rest." Ron snapped. "But we know you won't, so go on. See you later."

Hermione gave them all a warm smile before shuffling off to the library. Draco Malfoy watched the bushy haired girl leave the Great Hall and waited a full five minutes before getting up and leaving as well. He headed down the main corridor of the first floor before slipping through the doors of the vast library. He walked through the various sections until he came to the Dragon Section. They always met there at first before deciding where the most enclosed seating area was that day. He frowned to himself, not seeing Hermione anywhere near their section, but suddenly grunted as someone knocked into him hard. He turned around, seeing those warm brown eyes and quickly wrapped his arms around her slim frame.

"Are you alright?" she hurriedly whispered into his ear, noticing his sunken eyes and thin frame.

"I've been worse." he murmured against her ear before pulling away.

They walked over to a quiet and partially covered seating section and sat down, staring at each other. Hermione couldn't stop smiling because unbeknownst to him, she had seen him eating like a famished horse during the welcoming feast, and she was relieved.

"How is Harry doing?" he wondered.

"He seems to be better now." she admitted. "I think being back at the castle … near Dumbledore … it makes him feel safer. Now, tell me honestly, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Hermione." Draco sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I didn't find out much though. But from what I've gathered, that wasn't just a random attack. Father believes that the Death Eaters are banding together again. He doesn't know why … or who is leading them at the moment, but it seems to be happening. Surprisingly, he's not part of it … yet."

"Yet?" Hermione bit down on her bottom lip.

"He sounds like he's going to get involved with them once he finds out who's leading them." Draco admitted.

"Draco … you don't think that he's going to get you to … join as well, do you?" Hermione wondered, a worried tone in her voice.

"Yes." Draco stared directly into her eyes, not bothering to hide his brutal honesty. "But I'm hoping to be away from him before that happens."

"You know you always have a place with my family." Hermione reminded him.

"I know." Draco pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. "But for now, let's just worry about classes."

Worry is exactly what they did. Since it was only one more year before their O.W.L.S year, Draco and Hermione threw their days and nights into studying. They still wondered why they had needed dress robes that year, and now that Quidditch was cancelled, they were even more confused and curious. Their questions were answered though during the second week of school. Everyone was called down to dinner early and it was revealed that their school was to be the host for a special event called the Triwizard Tournament.

Draco was more excited than Hermione because he had heard stories of past tournaments from other pureblood families as well as his own father. It was supposed to be a tournament symbolizing unity and cooperation among various magical institutions. Hermione, however, had read about them before and knew how dangerous the tasks in the tournament were. She was the only one relieved to know that only those above the age of 17 were allowed to put forth their name to compete.

The most welcoming part to Hermione though, was seeing students from other schools stay with them and attend classes with them sometimes. The girls from the Beauxbatons academy were very prim and proper, and she had hoped to learn more about how they were taught at their school. The boys from Durmstrangs, however, were very intimidating, especially after realising that their headmaster was a former Death Eater.

The second week of classes revolved around everyone hanging out in the Great hall, to see who was putting forth their names into the Goblet of Fire. At the end of the week, the goblet would decide which person from the selected schools would be allowed to compete in the tournament. Although many students had entered their names, each house in Hogwarts were rooting for their own. Angelina Johnson was a sure bet for Gryffindor since she was on the Quidditch team and a very intelligent witch. Cassius Warrington was Slytherin's hope, while Cedric Diggory was Hufflepuff's golden boy. Unfortunately, no one in Ravenclaw had the guts to put forth their name, although they all went around castle reminding the other houses that the tasks would have been too easy for them to figure out since they were the smartest house. It was obvious that the Durmstrang students were putting all their galleons on Viktor Krum, while the Beauxbaton girls were all up in the air.

Hermione and Draco were both sitting back idly, focusing on their work while others around them focused on the tournament. The tournament turned out to be a great thing for them since no one really noticed their absences from their social groups. They were able to spend a lot of time together at the library, getting ahead with their class assignments, etc.

At the end of the second week, everyone gathered in the Great Hall after dinner to see what names the goblet deemed worthy of competing in the tournament. Hermione and Draco kept glancing at each other, knowing that their 4th year at Hogwarts was about to get very exciting. They were both interested in seeing how the tasks of the tournament would play out.

The Goblet roared to life finally and shot out 3 pieces of parchment, one after the other. Everyone cheered in excitement as the three names were listed off by Professor Dumbledore. It was concluded that Cedric Diggory would represent Hogwarts, Viktor Krum would represent Durmstrang, and Fleur Delacour would represent Beauxbatons.

Everyone clapped and cheered, too concerned to notice that the goblet was roaring to life once more. Hermione looked over at Draco, who met her eyes before turning away to look at the goblet in both nervousness and curiosity. Hermione nudged Harry and Ron before everyone in the hall fell silent, staring at the goblet in concern.

Professor Dumbledore stepped up to the goblet just as it shot out a fourth piece of parchment. The headmaster stared down at the piece of paper in disbelief before whispering the name to himself. He looked up and began scanning the room.

"Harry Potter!?" he yelled out, causing everyone to look at Harry, Hermione and Ron.

No one moved. No one said a word. Everyone just stared at the Golden trio.

Hermione was the first to jump into action. She knew there was nothing else to be done except push him to the headmaster and let the adults decide what to do. She nudged him hard and helped him up from his seat.

"Come on, Harry." she hissed. "You don't have a choice right now."

Harry's body automatically moved towards Dumbledore like a magnet. Murmuring quickly erupted as he made his way to Dumbledore, who just pointed in the direction of the room the other contestants had disappeared into. Hermione couldn't help but shoot a glare around the Great Hall as students began yelling at Harry for cheating.

Draco's eyes didn't leave Hermione's face, and this time, someone noticed the direction of his gaze. The headmaster quickly brought the attention to himself as he ordered everyone to leave the hall and go back to their common rooms.

Hermione finally met Draco's eyes and a quick nod determined that they would meet each other in the library. She glanced over at Ron to see him still glaring at the room the contestants and Harry had gone into.

"Ron, what's the matter?" Hermione whispered to him.

"I can't believe he would do that." Ron grumbled.

"What?" Hermione frowned. "You don't seriously think Harry actually managed to put his name into the goblet, do you? Honestly, Ron! He's your best friend! He doesn't want the fame and glory that comes with this tournament! You should know that!"

"Whatever Hermione." Ron shot her a harsh glare before walking off quickly, leaving her staring after him in shock.

"How could he be so stupid." she grumbled to herself as she made her way down the corridor to the library.

It was completely deserted since all the students had returned to their common rooms, so she didn't have to worry about being caught with Draco. She made her way to their section and found him leaning against a shelf, staring into nothingness with a pensive look on his face.

"He didn't really do it, right?" Draco rushed out as he noticed her presence.

"No." she shook her head. "Harry would never do something like that. He was too relieved that the pressure was going to be off of him this year. In fact, he was actually excited to sit back and watch like everyone else."

"I think this is linked to what happened at the world cup." Draco sighed.

"I think so too." Hermione bit down on her lower lip. "Draco … that means … the school isn't safe right now."

"No, it isn't." Draco eyes darkened. "I'm going to write a letter to my father and see what he knows. But until we find out for sure, we'll have to help Harry."

"I agree." Hermione moved closer towards him and pressed her head against his shoulder. "Are we ever going to have a quiet year?"

"Doubtful." Draco chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's go to bed. Stay up and wait for Harry. Find out what the minister has decided to do, and we'll meet back here tomorrow. Oh, before I forget, I think my mother is sending you a letter next week. You know she worries about us."

"Okay." Hermione pulled away and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "For what it's worth … I'm glad you're not in Harry's position."

Hermione turned on her heel and disappeared into the stacks, leaving him pondering her final statement. He didn't have long to think before he heard a billowing of robes moving in his direction. He clutched his wand, instinctively and sighed in relief as he realised that it was just his Head of House and Godfather.

"Your father would be appalled if he knew who you were associating with, Draco." Professor Snape drawled out as Draco's eyes widened, confirming what Severus Snape had been suspecting since their first year.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Thank you all for reviewing and favoriting! I would love to hear what your thoughts are as we progress!**_


	5. Chapter 5

This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.

Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

" _Dearest Narcissa,_

 _Things at Hogwarts have taken a scary turn. I am looking after Draco as best as I can, as I've promised you three years ago. And please, have no fear for me, I'm taking very good care of myself as well. Especially since you've been sending me those delicious butter cookies every fortnight. I'm glad you can appreciate my sweet tooth!_

 _I know that you've been waiting for my recollection of the tournament so far, and I'm sorry for making you wait this long. I trust that Mr. Malfoy has kept you somewhat informed, although I doubt it's very accurate. We all know how Mr. Malfoy likes to interpret things to benefit himself somehow._

 _As you, and the rest of the wizarding world, already know, Harry's name was picked by the goblet. I had assumed that the Headmaster and the tournament officials would have brushed it aside as a mistake or a fluke. But they didn't, so he is now part of the tournament as a fourth competitor._

 _The first task was actually this past weekend. Harry was lucky enough to find out that they would be dealing with dragons. Draco was smart enough to remind me of the summoning charm, Accio. I quickly tried teaching Harry, even though he barely had enough time to learn. But he got the hang of it right before the task. Draco also suggested that Harry accio his broom...which is exactly what he did. You already know that Harry's a superb flyer! He flew around the dragon and narrowly escaped his death, but he retrieved the egg. He apparently needs that egg for the second task, but he doesn't know why. That's what we're working on figuring out now._

 _The entire school is now preparing for the Yule Ball, tomorrow. Harry and Ron still haven't asked anyone to the ball. I believe Draco has chosen Pansy Parkinson, as requested by his father. As for me … well … I haven't yet told Draco this … or Harry and Ron … but Viktor Krum has asked me to attend the ball with him. I have accepted because … well … I'm not the prettiest girl in the school, so I doubt someone else will ask me. I do not have your beauty, although I wish for it sometimes._

 _So, I shall write again soon, and let you know how the ball went! Thank you again for the new bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion! I can't wait to use it for the ball on my hair. I shall send you pictures as well. Hopefully I can sneak a few of Draco for you._

 _Wishing you lots of love and safety!_

 _Hermione Granger"_

She sighed and blew air onto the wet magic ink, helping it to dry a bit on the clean parchment. She folded the letter and placed a special seal on it that will only allow the intended reader to break the seal. She stood up from her seat in the library and stretched her limbs before gathering her books into her bag and heading for the owlery.

It was already 9pm and snow was falling heavily outside as Hermione made her way up the long tower of the owlery. She smiled and waited patiently until a bird decided to assist her. The brown barn owl flew down towards her, resting on a spot next to her head and pecking her ear lightly.

Hermione smiled, pulled out a snack from inside her robes and fed it to the willing owl. She then handed him her letter and stroked his chest gently.

"Take this to Narcissa Malfoy." she whispered. "And make sure she's alone when she gets it, ok?"

The owl pecked at her ear once more before flying out of the tower. Hermione stared after the owl as her mind began to wander over what Draco was doing at the moment. She had already admitted to herself that her constant thoughts about him recently had began to slightly bother her. She didn't know why her mind kept moving across to Draco, but she knew there had to be some subconscious reason. She did recall feeling a sharp pang of anger and sadness when Draco had informed her that he would be taking Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball, but she brushed it aside quickly, not giving it another thought … until now.

She leaned against the stone framed window, staring down at the soft blanket of snow that was quickly covering the ground, as her mind began to roll over so many thoughts at once. Her mind was so lost to her at this point that she didn't even notice someone quietly coming up to her from behind, until they placed a cold hand on her shivering shoulder.

"Hermione! You're freezing!" Draco's voice reached her ear. "How long have you been here?!"

Hermione jumped slightly and turned around to face the pair of concerned grey eyes staring at her. She looked up at the clock in the tower and realised that she had been standing by the open window for a full two hours. She frowned and shifted slightly before screaming out in pain as both her legs gave out. Before falling onto her face, Draco swiftly picked her up into his arms, holding her bridal style as he walked out of the tower, heading straight for the enclosed hut at the bottom.

"Draco, what are you doing!?" Hermione gasped as she clung to his robes, but quickly relaxed as she realised how warm he was compared to her. She smiled slightly as her body soaked up his warmth like a sponge.

Draco kicked open the door to the hut underneath the owlery, carrying her over the threshold and into the slightly warmer room. He frowned and placed her on the nearest chair before pulling his wand out and casting a warming spell throughout the room. Hermione's body shivered uncontrollably even though it was slowly warming itself back up.

Draco returned his wand to the inside pockets of his robe and glanced across the room at Hermione. She was curled up on the chair with her arms wrapped around her body.

"How could you not realise that you were standing out there for so long?" he snapped angrily.

"I was … thinking." Hermione offered the poor excuse, too exhausted to think of a lie.

"What were you thinking about?" Draco questioned.

"Nothing." Hermione rushed out too quickly.

"It must have been something if you were so entranced that you forgot the time!" Draco bellowed.

Hermione's anger quickly rose to its peak as she shot Draco a hard glare that would have cause Harry and Ron to run away in fear. But, so accustomed he was to her, that he just gave her a harsh glare right back. He growled angrily as he pulled out his wand again and casted a stronger warming spell over her freezing body.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered.

"Now … what had you so worried that you lost track of time and place?" he asked again.

"Harry still can't figure out the egg." she lied perfectly.

Draco sighed and pulled up a chair next to her. He glanced around the room and quickly realised that they were sitting in a cleaning hut. He glowered angrily at all the mops and brooms around them.

"Hermione, if we can't figure it out, you really think Potter will?" Draco rolled his eyes towards her.

"No, I suppose not." she sighed. "I just wish there was more we could do. He's very stressed out at the moment. I'm hoping that the ball tomorrow will help him unwind a bit."

Draco stared at her curiously, causing her to look away from him out of fear of him being able to read her so easily.

"Are you … excited … for tomorrow?" he wondered.

"Yes." she admitted. "I've never been to a ball before. I'm very excited to see what happens."

"You still haven't told me who you're going with." Draco turned his entire body to face her.

"No, I haven't." Hermione sighed.

"Well?" he snapped. "Are you going to tell me!?"

Draco bore his eyes into her, hoping to show her how much he needed to know. The past few days had been pure torture for him. He had seen the look of anger and hurt that had crossed her features that day when he revealed who he had to take to the ball. In his heart, he had wanted to take her … but that would have led to major repercussions that neither one of them were ready for. So, he had just stared at her until she gracefully pushed her emotions aside and gave him the political response he had been waiting for. But now, the mere thought of Hermione going to the ball with any other person besides himself, was getting him angered to the point of becoming irrational and insane.

"We should get some sleep." Hermione said softly, still not informing him of her choice.

"Ok." he agreed, knowing that she would never give in, even when pressured. She would give any torturer a damn hard time.

Draco stood up and offered his hand to her. She took it gingerly and they walked to the castle in comfortable but tensed silence. Once they arrived at the castle's entrance, he dropped her hand and stopped walking, staring after her as she entered the castle first and disappeared from his sight.

* * *

Hermione barely slept that night and decided to take a vial of dreamless sleep and lie in the next day. She didn't know that Draco had secretly gone to the library 10 times throughout the day, looking for her. She didn't know that Harry and Ron had paced at the foot of the stairs that led to the girls' dormitories all afternoon. No, Hermione Granger didn't know anything because she was too deeply asleep.

It was Ginny Weasley who finally roused the sleeping girl, to remind her that the ball was to start in two hours. Hermione flew out of her bed and took a long shower before she began the long task of dealing with her curly bushy hair. After a full hour, she was finally able to get her hair smooth and silky and styled in a sophisticated knot with hanging tendrils around it and her face. She slipped into her light periwinkle-blue dress robes and a pair of stylish silver heels.

She took a deep breath and entered her dorms, only to find it empty as everyone had already begun to head down to the Great Hall. She looked at herself once more before she quickly rushed out of the dorms and out of the common room, heading straight for the Great Hall. She stopped at the staircase leading to the hall's entrance and peeked out to see that the tournament contestants were preparing to enter with their escorts.

As she appeared and slowly made her way down the stairs to Viktor Krum's outstretched hand and smiling face, she noticed Harry had turned to stare at her with a shocked expression on his face. Never before had he seen his best friend, or anyone else for that matter, looking so exquisitely beautiful. Hermione gave Harry a shy smile and took Viktor's hand, instantly causing Harry to realise that she did indeed have a date, and it was, surprisingly, the most sought out male in their school at the moment. He knew then that Hermione Granger was going to shine tonight, and he felt a huge sense of pride well up inside of him. She was, after all, his best friend.

Hermione and Viktor entered the hall first and she instantly felt every eye in the room focused on her. She kept her head up and looked straight forward as Viktor pulled her into position for the opening dance. As Viktor reached down and firmly placed his hand on her waist, pulling her slightly closer against him, Hermione's eyes fell upon a pair of angry grey ones. The guilt she felt was overbearing and she wanted to run away and cry, but instead was lifted into the air by Viktor as the dance began. Her head began spinning, as she twirled around the floor with Viktor, looking in every direction for that pair of grey eyes once more.

Draco watched, as the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on, danced around the room with a man she had no business even being near. His blood was boiling as the voice in his mind kept screaming at him that she was his. He should have asked her to the dance. He should have said fuck it to everyone and just asked her.

As the first song finally came to an end, Hermione looked around for Draco, but was swiftly led away by Viktor towards a group of Durmstrang students. Hermione sighed and placed a fake smile on her face as she introduced to everyone around her. She tried to keep up with the conversations, but the only thing on her mind was the revelation she had come to. She was in love with her best friend. She quickly made a note in her mind to tell Draco how she really felt the next day. She would not be one of those girls who hid behind their crush and hoped that he would start things first. No, she would lay her feelings out on the table and hope that they were reciprocated.

As the night dragged on, she kept up her fake happy facade. The band had been fantastic to listen to, even though she knew none of the songs, but now she was finally free of Viktor as he had offered to go and get them something to drink. She, at first, went in search of Draco since she hadn't seen him at all after the first dance. But giving up hope, thinking he had returned to his rooms, she went to find Harry and Ron.

"Harry! Ron!" she greeted the two sulking boys at their table. "Viktor is getting us something to drink, would you like to join us? You can ask him about quidditch, Ron."

"No, we don't want to have drinks with you and Viktor!" Ron spat out. "How could you, Hermione? He's the enemy!"

"Enemy?" Hermione's anger instantly rose. "What are you talking about? You're the one who was most excited to see him when his school arrived! Isn't he your favorite player?!"

"He's Harry's competition." Ron snapped. "You should have known better. You should have just come with me instead!"

"You asked me as a last resort!" Hermione clenched her fists. "How is that supposed to be flattering to me!?"

"What did you do to him?" Ron wondered. "Did you imperio him to ask you?"

Hermione inhaled sharply as Harry opened his mouth to reprimand Ron, noticing the hurt look on Hermione's face.

"I can't believe you just said that to me, Ronald." Hermione gritted her teeth together. "You … you … you spoil everything!"

Hermione turned on her heel and left as Harry stood up to run after her. He ran as fast as he could as she disappeared out of the Great Hall, heading straight for Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Hermione pushed open the bathroom door and entered but stopped at the sight in front of her.

Draco Malfoy had Pansy Parkinson pressed up against the wall, with the strap of her dress robes hanging off of her shoulders. Draco turned his head to tell whoever had interrupted them to fuck off, but his eyes landed on the real person he wanted to kiss at the moment.

Hermione stared at the scene in front of her as unknowing tears rolled down her face. Harry finally caught up to her, saw her crying and turned to see what she was staring at. He glared at Draco before realising that something was very … very … wrong.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Now, I know a lot of you wanted Draco to take Hermione, but trust me...it gets better from here! Thank you for all the reviews and keep letting me know your thoughts!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Harry Potter wasn't as oblivious as most people believed him to be. Yes, he was the famed boy who lived. Yes, he wasn't as intelligent as Hermione. Yes, he wasn't as outgoing at Ron. But, he was very good at observing things around him. It's how he figured out that someone was after the sorcerer's stone in the first place during his first year. So, he knew a lot more than he would ever acknowledge. But what he was currently observing, he was surprised that Hermione wasn't noticing herself.

"What did you give him, Parkinson?" Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

Pansy shot Harry a glare as Draco moved her to stand behind him. Hermione's eyes finally narrowed in on Draco's and she saw what Harry had been noticing. Draco's eyes seemed to be glazed over as if he was in a permanent daze.

"What did you give him, Pansy?" Hermione snapped.

"She didn't give me anything!" Draco retorted. "I love her!"

"Love potion." Hermione sighed in relief.

"Come on, Hermione, let's leave them to it." Harry tried to grab her hand, but Hermione pulled away from him.

"You know it's against school rules and illegal to give someone a love potion!" Hermione shrieked at Pansy, causing Harry to stare at her in shock.

"Why does it matter to you?' Pansy raised an eyebrow. "This is Draco, your enemy. What does it matter what happens to him?"

"Because it's wrong either way!" Hermione grabbed Draco by the hand and tried drag him away, but he wouldn't budge. Hermione huffed out in frustration and narrowed her eyes at Pansy. "Either you help me get him to Professor Snape's lab, or I go right now and tell Dumbledore what you've done. I wonder what the consequences are for giving someone an illegal potion?"

Pansy's face paled dramatically at the thought of what the consequences would be. She knew the first thing would probably be expulsion. She would be the laughing stock of the Pure Blood families if that happened to her. A pang of anger flashed across her mind at her reasons for doing this. Her father had insisted that she try to seduce Draco into falling in love with her, so that they would unite the two families after their 7th year graduation. She had been against it at first, but after studying Draco's fine features, she admitted that her attraction to him was more that she had ever considered before. She had been observing him and deduced that his passions were solely based on succeeding academically. Thus, her attraction to him grew even more. She wasn't a very smart witch, so she needed to have someone with extreme intelligence at her side to balance things out. Draco was, therefore, the perfect candidate.

She had paid a 7th year Slytherin to make the potion for her, and then easily slipped it into his drink after the first dance. His response had been strange because he seemed to have struggled with accepting the potion in his system; as if refusing to let the potion change his mind about her. But, you can't change it once it's inside of you, and so he caved and professed his love to her. Everything had gone smoothly after, until fucking Granger showed up. She wanted to hex the hell out of Granger for barging into the bathroom, but the shocked look on Granger's face was enough to make the situation seem comical to her. It was just Granger after all.

But now, she was threatening to go to the Headmaster, and Pansy couldn't afford to get into trouble. She would instantly be disowned.

"Alright." Pansy growled. "Draco, let's go with her to see Professor Snape's labs."

"Anything you want, my dear Pansy." Draco said seductively as he turned to look at her. "I'll follow you anywhere."

Harry frowned, trying not to throw up as he stared at Hermione curiously. He wondered briefly why she was even trying to help Malfoy, but quickly decided that it was because she WAS Hermione. She always did the right thing. He sighed to himself and began to follow the group out of the bathroom.

"Harry, go back to Ron." Hermione said with a bit of harshness in her tone. "I can handle this."

He gave her an unsure look, but the glare he received in return caused him to relent immediately. He gave her a quick nod and turned to go find Ron. Hermione hurriedly made her way down to the dungeons. She knew that Professor Snape wouldn't return to his rooms until the dance was over, so that gave her a good 3 hours to prepare the antidote potion, or rather … a good three hours to search through Professor Snape's cupboards for the antidote.

They were lucky enough to not be spotted by anyone on their way down to the dungeons. The music from the Great Hall seemed to be echoing throughout the castle, but the second they stepped into the potions classroom, the music disappeared. Hermione turned slowly to face Pansy and Draco.

"You should wait outside and be the look out in case Professor Snape decides to leave the ball early." Hermione suggested to Pansy.

"You want me to leave you in here with Draco?" Pansy raised an eyebrow.

"I can handle Malfoy." Hermione straightened her shoulders.

"You're funeral, mudblood." Pansy sniggered and quickly stepped out of the classroom as Hermione locked the door behind her.

"You really don't need to do anything." Draco's voice met her ears. "Pansy and I are perfectly happy."

Although she knew it was the potion talking, she couldn't stop the hurtful feeling that stabbed through her heart. She sighed to herself and walked into Professor Snape's private store room and began slowly looking through all the vials of potions. She was instantly impressed by the number of already made potions he had at his disposal. She found the clear potion easily and was grateful that Professor Snape was organized enough to label each of his potions.

She quickly returned to the classroom and found Draco sitting atop a desk, very regally, and unlike the Draco she had grown to know. It hit her then that, maybe … deep down inside … he wouldn't accept her feelings for him. He might laugh at her, or let her down easily. Maybe friendship was the only thing they were able to have because that was all he was capable of giving without lowering himself.

She shook her head quickly, knowing that her thoughts were ridiculous and were the results of the situation she was in right now. She knew that Draco wasn't like this at all. But doubt was there … and until it was gone … she could never trust him fully with her feelings.

"Are you done?" Draco called over to her. "I'm pretty sure Pansy is probably waiting for me."

Hermione cleared her throat and walked up to him, handing him the vial. She watched him closely as he uncapped it and downed the entire bottle. After a few minutes, his eyes slowly returned to normal from its glossy state and she waited until confusion hit them.

"What the hell happened?" Draco wondered.

"Pansy Parkinson slipped a love potion into whatever you were drinking." Hermione murmured softly.

"She did … what!?" Draco roared. "That … that … bitch!"

"I see you're better now, so I'll leave you to deal with her." Hermione whispered.

"Hermione." Draco reached out and grabbed her hand as she walked past him. "What else happened?"

"Nothing." Hermione refused to look him in the eye, proving that she was lying.

"Why are you lying to me?" Draco demanded as he tightened his hold on her wrist. "What else happened? Tell me, please? If something happened without my knowing … or worse … my consent … I deserve to know!"

"I found the two of you, making out, in the girl's bathroom." Hermione revealed. "And I'm positive that if I … if I hadn't walked in … you two would have … consummated … your union."

Draco stared into her eyes and there was no mistaking the hurt that was portrayed in them. She was hurt. And he had done it. No … Pansy had done it. He was going to kill her. But, as he stared at her hurt expression, what he remembered from the ball came rushing back to him. Her walking in on the arms of that oaf, Krum. Her dancing with Krum. Her smiling at Krum.

"Ah, well, thank you for … the antidote." Draco drawled out. "I'm sorry for keeping you away from Krum. I'm sure your Bulgarian is probably looking for you. He probably wants to do the same thing Pansy tried to do with - "

A hard slap crossed his face before he could finish his last thought, and he instantly regretted the words that had come out of his mouth. He watched her as she stormed out of the room, tears falling from her eyes. He couldn't have felt like a bigger asshole than in that moment. He knew what he had to do. He needed to explain himself. He needed to … tell her his feelings.

"Hermione! Wait!" Draco yelled as he sprinted after her.

Pansy grabbed onto the sleeve of his dress robes as she saw him run past her. She held her grip and pulled him to face her, with anger in her eyes.

"Why are you going after the mudblood?" she snapped.

"Because I have to." Draco snatched his arm out of her grip. "Go back to the common room, and don't ever speak to me again. Or else, I will report what you did to your father and the Headmaster."

Pansy stepped back in both shock and anger. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him run after the Granger girl, vowing to figure out what was really going on.

Draco could feel Pansy's eyes on the back of his head as he ran, but the only thing he needed to figure out was where Hermione had gone. He checked the Great Hall first, only to find that everyone else was there except Hermione. He spotted Potter trying to talk to Weasley, who seemed to not want to hear what he was saying. He saw Krum talking to his friends, but Hermione wasn't anywhere near him.

He needed to think of where she would run off to. He knew she wouldn't go to the Gryffindor Common Room, because she wouldn't want anyone to ask her why she was crying. He gasped out loud as the answer dawned on him. He turned and quickly made his way out of the Great Hall, ignoring Harry staring at him curiously.

He ran as fast as he could through the castle towards the Transfiguration courtyard. He passed the courtyard and went towards the Astronomy Tower. He knew how much Hermione loved to stare at the stars. It was always soothing to her.

He climbed the stairs, practically out of the breath by now, but the need to see her urged him on. He came to a stop, at the top of the tower as he found her staring out at the skies. The moonlight made her look ethereal to him and he couldn't help but stare at her beauty for a few minutes.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy." Hermione spat out without turning around.

"Hermione … please …" Draco began as he stepped closer towards her.

"Go away." Hermione spun around and pointed her wand at him. "I should have known better than to think you could be anything else but your father's son!"

Draco stumbled back slightly, as those words washed over him like a Cruciatus curse. He had to keep going though. She needed to know the truth.

"Hermione … I'm sorry for what I said." Draco said gently. "You know me better than anyone. You know how my … temper … gets."

"You've never taken your anger out on me!" Hermione snapped. "So I guess I'm not as important as I thought I was."

"No, you're not." Draco sighed and took a step towards her, but she refused to lower her wand. 'You're more important than you think. More than you will ever know. It killed me tonight to see you on the arms of Krum … hell … on the arms of any other guy."

"Stop." Hermione said softly.

"It made me so jealous … so fucking jealous." Draco growled as the image of her dancing with Krum entered his mind again. "I don't want you dancing with anyone."

"Why?" Hermione felt her grip on her wand slipping a bit as she listened to him.

"Because you should only be dancing with me." Draco admitted as he stared deeply into her eyes.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I hope you all had a good week. Thank you for all the love, all the favoriting, and all the reviews. Can't wait to see what you guys think of this one.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

The depth of the water in the lake was causing Harry to swim slower than he usually would. He followed the path towards the wide opening and instantly felt his heart leap into his throat. Floating, unconsciously, were his two best friends, Cho Chang and a girl that looked like a younger version of Fleur Delacour. Before he could decide who to help first, Cedric Diggory came swimming over to him and went right past him, directly for Cho. Cedric gave Harry a look of warning before swimming away with Cho in his arms.

Harry's eyes went to Hermione as his body instinctively moved towards her unconscious form. A slight disturbance in the water caused him to glance back as Viktor Krum came barreling towards him with a shark for a head. He bit the ropes attached to Hermione's form and swam away with Hermione dragging behind him.

The feeling of being dragged underwater was all Hermione could remember. She knew that she wanted to open her eyes, but some unknown force was keeping them closed. As soon as her head broke through the surface, her eyes were able to finally fly open. She looked around for a pair of silver eyes, but the waves in the water were making it hard for her to tread and stay afloat. A firm hand grasped her wrist and dragged her over to the docks. She tried to pull away but the person was too strong.

Suddenly, two pairs of hands reached out and pulled her out of the freezing water. Her entire body started shivering right before she felt someone cast a warming spell on her. She looked around and noticed Draco quietly slipping his wand back into his pants. She wanted to be in his arms more than anything at that very moment, but her mind quickly changed to focus on the fact that Harry was still underwater. Someone dropped a warm towel around her body and she clutched it for dear life as she stared into the water, willing Harry to surface.

Her eyes glanced over to Draco's once more, who was staring directly at her with concern. She gave him a reassuring smile before turning back to the lake. The seconds before Harry appeared were the most excruciating for her, but he finally surfaced just as the timer bell sounded. Hermione raced over to Harry's section and placed her towel around his shaking body. It was over. The second task was finally over. She looked up once more and met Draco's eyes. So many things were said between them with that last look.

After announcing that Harry, although he came in last place, was going to be given second place, everyone left to make the long journey back to the castle. Hermione pulled away from her small group and disappeared along the way, knowing that she wouldn't really be missed anyway since the entire Gryffindor House was obsessing over Harry's outstanding performance. She walked through the forest and headed straight for the Astronomy Tower. She climbed the long spiral staircase and breathed in deeply as she spotted the head of white blond hair waiting for her at the top.

Draco turned slowly as soon as he heard her footsteps and swiftly walked over to her, pulling her into his arms in a tight embrace. He inhaled the scent of her damp hair deeply before pulling away slightly to look into her eyes. Hermione gave him a brave smile that he knew wasn't real because she had instantly begun to shake in his arms.

"I'm so sorry." he whispered soothingly as he rubbed his warm hands up and down her cold arms. "I didn't know that you would have been picked."

"I don't think any of us knew." she choked out. "I felt like...I was in a prison of my own making. I wanted to move...I wanted to open my eyes...I wanted to swim away...but I just couldn't. I was frozen...and it terrified me."

Draco released an angry growl and as he quickly casted another warming spell over her body. Hermione smiled to herself in relief before reluctantly pulling away from his embrace. She moved over to the banister and looked out at the slowly darkening sky.

"I know...I haven't responded to what you said after the Yule Ball...but I think I'm ready to now." she said softly as she inhaled deeply. "Draco...I know you have feelings for me. But we both know that even if we act upon those feelings...eventually...as we get older...obstacles will get in the way. The Yule Ball was a perfect example of that. We were forced to go with other people because we have to keep up the image of us being enemies...for both of our sakes."

"You know that I didn't want to go with her!" Draco protested as he took a step towards her.

"I know." Hermione sighed and turned back to face him. "And I didn't want you to go with her either...but that's the point, isn't it? We can't be together publically. Your father will instantly disown you...or worse, he might kill you. And as for me...Harry and Ron will shun me, and all those Slytherin girls will probably bully me to no end. So, what's the point of having feelings for each other if we can't even do anything about it? Besides, what if we do...indeed...acknowledge these feelings and then things go south between us? We will lose the amazing friendship we have right now."

"So, you admit that you have feelings for me?" Draco's face broke out into a relieved smile.

"After everything I just said...that's what you choose to pick up on?" Hermione chuckled softly. "Yes, you nitwit. I have feelings for you. Strong feelings. Feelings that I think I've had for a long time but only just realised them. When I was under the water, not being able to move or save myself, all I thought about was you."

"I have known of my feelings for you since before last summer." he closed the distance between them and lifted his hand to cup the left side of her cheek gently. "I was planning to tell you before we began school this year, but...well...the World Cup happened...and then this tournament."

"I'm sorry that it took seeing you with Pansy to realise how I felt about you." Hermione looked down guiltily. "But like I said, it doesn't matter. I don't want to lose your friendship, and I don't want you disowned from your family either."

"For the brightest witch of our age, you can be very dumb sometimes." Draco chuckled and lifted his other hand to cup the right side of her face as he stared into her eyes. "Since I was 11 years old, Miss Granger...your family has been what I would call my family. I understand your fears and I will accept them...for now. But know this, Hermione, you and I will be together. I will refrain from pursuing you while we are in school, out of fear of the repercussions that we will face from the student body, especially from our own houses. But, the second we graduate, I plan to disown _myself_ from my family and pursue a much better life with you, if you'd allow it."

Hermione blinked back her tears as she stared deeply into his eyes. Every fiber in her very being was urging her to just lean in and kiss his perfectly formed lips. But rationality and reality were in the way.

"How can say that now?" she wondered out loud. "We're barely 15 years old … things can change as we get older."

"What do you fear will change?" Draco tried to keep from laughing at her worry.

"Well, you might start liking someone else, for one." Hermione shrugged and pulled away from him, pacing the tower quickly. "You might realise that you need all the wealth and first class decorum that the Malfoy name gives you. You might even start...liking your father."

Draco hissed sharply and grabbed her arms tightly, spinning her to face him once more. He bore his steel grey eyes into her deep brown pools and kept them there.

"First of all, I will never like or even become my father. You, out of everyone here, should know that." he spat out. "Secondly, you also know how little I truly care for the wealth of my family, or even the way they live their lives. And finally, I have liked you for so long, how could you even think that I would look at another girl the way I look at you? You may not be able to say it, Hermione, but I can. I love YOU. I will wait for YOU."

With that, he brought his lips down onto hers hard and rough. But, even through the roughness, there was no denying how soft they felt, or even how naturally they molded against hers. Hermione released a soft whimper as she finally gave in and leaned her body against his, deepening the searing kiss. Draco moved his lips against her hungrily as he lowered his arms to her waist, pulling her against him even closer. Their bodies quickly became one before Draco pulled away to give her some air. He smiled to himself as he stared down at her closed eyes and blushing face. He kissed her pouty full lips once more before kissing her forehead gently.

"Ok." Hermione finally breathed out after getting her racing her heart to beat normally again.

"Ok what?" Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"If you'll truly wait for me...then I shall wait for you." she explained. "We know how we both feel...so until graduation...we'll stay as we are now. But, once graduation is over...you better pursue me."

"Oh believe me darling...pursue you, I will." he murmured teasingly.

Hermione's face turned red again as she pulled away from his embrace and headed to the staircase. Draco stood still, watching after her, a look of pure happiness on his face.

"Are you coming?" she threw at him from the staircase. "It's already 10 minutes into dinner, and I'm feeling rather famished all of a sudden."

Draco chuckled and moved to walk with her back to the castle. The feeling of dread that they had been enduring since the start of school year was now temporarily replaced by bliss. How long would the feeling last, neither one of them knew.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I must apologize deeply for such a long absence. Real life got in the way, in a big way, but things are slowly returning to normal. So, weekly chapters shall return! I'd love to see what you guys think of this chapter! Thank you for still sticking with me even during my hiatus.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

The nightmares seemed to be getting worse with every passing night. Her fourth year at Hogwarts had ended tragically, and the vision of Cedric Diggory's lifeless body and dead eyes had been haunting her ever since. She hadn't had a good night's sleep since that fateful day, and it was starting to affect her functionality during the day.

It was now her summer vacation and she had thought that with a change of scenery, and being back at home, the nightmares would have stopped, but she was wrong. Every time she closed her eyes, her subconscious returned to that night. Tonight wasn't any exception. She felt herself slowly drifting back towards that night and she couldn't wake herself up. She felt her body beginning to toss and turn in her bed as her heart rate spiked, and still, she couldn't wake herself up. She clutched her sheets as the face of Cedric Diggory floated before her closed eyelids. She felt her mouth open and she heard the shrilling sound erupt from her throat, but still, she couldn't wake herself up.

Cold, smooth and strong arms wrapped around her shoulders as she felt her body being pulled against a hard but warm chest. Her screaming instantly ceased as a soothing voice washed over.

"I'm here." Draco whispered into her ear. "It's ok. I'm here."

Hermione's breathing began to return to normal as her eyes fluttered open. She stared up into Draco's concerned face and clung to him tightly. Draco sighed and pressed her head against his chest as he rested his chin against her head and rocked her back and forth gently.

"What am I going to do?" Hermione murmured softly. "I can't focus anymore during the day because I'm so tired all the time. How am I going to manage once fifth year begins?"

"I think I have a solution." Draco said softly as he cleared his throat. "Professor Snape...he knows about us...and he wants to help."

"Professor Snape!?" Hermione pulled away and stared into his stormy pools with a shocked expression on her face. "But, he doesn't like me...or anyone!"

"Wrong." Draco chuckled. "Severus likes you. You are the brightest student he's seen since...well...himself. And as for me, well he IS my Godfather."

"How did he find out?" Hermione wondered.

"He sort of figured it out after following us for a while." Draco smirked. "He is a spy after all."

"Spy?" Hermione sat up, fully awake now and turned to face him completely.

"He works...undercover...for Dumbledore...as a Death Eater for Voldemort." Draco revealed.

"But, oh god...but what if Voldemort finds out about...his true loyalties!?" Hermione shrieked.

"Severus always has a backup plan in case that happens." Draco looked away. "Please, don't worry too much. He can take care of himself. He's very very powerful."

"I suppose I can't tell Harry and Ron about this?" she smiled.

"Well, I suspect that Ron probably already knows since his family is part of the Order." Draco shrugged.

"How do you know about the Order?!" Hermione wondered. "I only found out last week in a letter from Dumbledore."

"I told you, Severus is my Godfather...he tells me everything." Draco reached up and twirled one of her bouncy curls. "We do need to talk…"

"I know." Hermione stared deeply into his eyes. "Things will be harder now…"

"Yes." Draco sighed. "I know that you were requested to go to the order's safe house as some point this summer."

"How did you...Draco! You read my letter?!" Hermione frowned.

"Yes." he raised an eyebrow at her. "I am a Slytherin you know. Anyway, that is beside the point right now. You need to know that what Dumbledore is doing...by ostracizing Harry...is wrong. He, of all people, needs to know what the hell is going on around him."

"But Dumbledore -" she began.

"Is an old fool!" Draco snapped. "He is powerful beyond comparison, but he is still old. Harry needs to be kept updated. He's going to feel hurt from you and Ron hiding things from him. Please, for Harry's sake, tell him what's going on. He needs reassurance right now that his friends can be trusted. His life, more than anyone else's life, is in danger."

"I'll think about it." Hermione responded honestly. "I don't know how I feel about betraying Dumbledore's trust, but I have to agree with you. The last thing Harry needs to feel is being ignored."

"Also...I will have to...get closer to my dad." Draco watched as her eyes darkened in anger.

She jumped off the bed and began pacing back and forth angrily.

"Why?!" she yelled. "Why do you have to get closer to your dad?"

"Because I need to do my part in helping Severus, and by extension...you." Draco explained. "If this escalates, like we both know it's going to, then I will need to go undercover like Severus."

"No!" Hermione shouted. "No, no, no!"

"Hermione, stop." Draco stepped off the bed and tried to move closer towards her.

"No!" she screamed. "You could get killed...or be turned into a real Death Eater."

Draco stopped moving instantly as she said her last statement. He stared at her, conveying all the hurt that what she had just said caused.

"After everything we've been through, you still think I would succumb to being one of...them!?" Draco's voice slowly rose with each word he spoke. "How could you think so little of me?!"

"Draco, no!" Hermione moved over towards him. "That's not what I meant at all!"

"Oh really?" he snapped. "Because it damn well sounded like it!"

"Draco please, let me rephrase." she pleaded.

"No." he pushed her away slightly. "This was one of the reasons for you not to want to be with me now, and it's clearly something that is always going to worry you...I need to go."

He stormed past her and walked down the hallway towards the staircase. He could feel Hermione following him as he picked up his pace. He threw open the kitchen door and walked swiftly out into the cool summer night.

Rain had begun to fall, but it didn't stop him from walking through the Granger's front garden and out onto the street. He thought that Hermione trusted him enough by now, but he was clearly mistaken. It hurt him to know that the one true friend...and essentially the love of his life...didn't have that much faith in him.

"Draco, please!" Hermione's voice penetrated his mind.

He looked around and realised that he had walked to the community playground and he was drenched completely from head to toe. He turned to look back at Hermione, who was shivering slightly as she stared at him with tears running down her cheeks.

"Don't leave me...please!" she pleaded as her body shook. "I love you too much to see anything happen to you! I'm just so scared for us right now. For you, for Harry, for Ron, for my parents, for all of us! I'm terrified of what they will do to you, or worse, what your father would force you to do! I'm sorry! I'm just scared!"

Silence followed her small speech. The only sound being heard was the sound of the heavy raindrops falling atop the sidewalk and playground equipment.

"What...what did you just say?" Draco asked.

"I said...I'm sorry." Hermione's body was shivering uncontrollably now.

"No...before that." he said softly as he slowly walked over to her.

"Oh…" Hermione's eyes widened in recognition of what she had admitted. "Fine! I...I love you...I love you, Draco Malfoy, you idiot!"

Draco quickened his pace and reached out to grab her cotton pajama top, pulling her roughly against his soaked chest as he slammed his lips down over hers. Hermione gasped in surprise before releasing a soft moan against his lips. He pushed her back into the nearest lamppost, being careful not to hurt her head with his aggressiveness as he deepened the kiss, teasing her lips with his tongue. Hermione willingly parted her lips for him, reaching out nervously with her tongue to slide it against his as she moaned louder. Draco sucked hungrily on her tongue as his lips easily and naturally moved over hers. He entangled his fingers with her dripping wet curls as he tugged her head slightly, causing her to lean up higher to reach him.

Her shivering caught his attention fully and caused him to reluctantly pull away from her succulent lips. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers as he listened to her breath in and out heavily in rhythm with the rising and falling of her chest. He gently pressed his lips against her cold forehead as the grip he had on her hair softened a bit.

"I love you so damn much, Hermione. It kills me that I can't show you all the time." he whispered against her forehead.

"You can show me." she blurted out without thinking first.

"No." he sighed and shook his head. "Neither one of us can think about that right now. Too many things are happening between us as it is."

"I know." Hermione agreed. "I just...I wish sometimes that things were just...easier."

"I think everyone wishes that." Draco chuckled as he lowered his hand to entwine them with hers. "Come on, it's pouring rain and we can't afford to get you sick with the lack of sleep you've been having."

Hermione just nodded her head and followed him back to her house. Once they were indoors, Hermione moved around the kitchen to make them some hot chocolate while Draco disappeared upstairs to get them some fresh clothes. A strange feeling began to eat at Hermione as she grabbed the Shakespeare themed mugs that Draco had given her for Christmas during her third year.

"Hermione…" Draco's dead tone caused the stabbing in her heart to deepen. "These came for us."

He placed a sealed letter atop the kitchen counter that was addressed to her, while he clutched angrily at the open letter in his other hand. Hermione frowned and glanced down at the letter, noticing Dumbledore's seal immediately before ripping the letter open and reading through it.

"He needs me to go to the safe house...for the rest of summer as soon as possible." Hermione sighed and dropped the letter. "He wants to get me and Ron settled there before he brings Harry."

"And my father is demanding my presence." Draco growled as he threw his letter down on the counter.

Hermione snatched it up and read through it quickly as her pale face turned even whiter.

"The Dark Lord is...staying at your house!?" Hermione gasped. She dropped the letter as if it was poisoned and moved around the counter to wrap her arms around his waist.

Draco pulled her closer as he nodded his head.

"Ok, I don't know how you're going to write to me if he's there." she murmured.

"I'll find a way." Draco whispered softly.

"I trust you, Draco." Hermione looked up into his eyes. "I believe in you. I trust you."

"Thank you." he reached down and stroked her cheek gently. "I promise...I won't let them change me. I have too much to fight for now."

"Draco - " Hermione opened her mouth to say something else.

"No." he cut her off. "Let's have our hot chocolate. Memories like this is what I need right now."

"Ok." Hermione nodded reluctantly and moved away towards the electric kettle.

Draco watched her movements as his mind tried to subside the building fear he was feeling. He needed to do whatever he had to to protect her. She was his light at the end of the tunnel. He could only hope that she would stick with him through it all, because if she didn't, the darkness might win him over and everything that was good in his life would be lost forever.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Thank you to everyone for reviewing and liking my chapters! I hope I can keep you all enjoying this story! Till next time! :)**_


	9. Chapter 9

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

The fifth year of Hogwarts for Hermione started off with a bang. Their new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher was a ridiculous joke to her, Harry was barely speaking to either her or Ron, it was harder than usual to find time with Draco, and to top it off she felt as if things were just going to get worse. Her biggest concern was Draco and Harry. She needed to talk to Draco first, because at the moment, it seemed as if there was no hope for Harry.

The rest of summer had been a difficult pill for her to swallow. Draco's letters went from daily to weekly to...non existent. She had buried her worries in the back of her mind because her attention needed to be on Harry then. He had his trial coming up and she had been determined to save his wand. Luckily for them, Dumbledore had appeared at Harry's trial and saved him.

Once Harry was officially reinstated into Hogwarts, her mind opened up and accepted her worries for Draco. She had decided to not write to him until he had written first, in case something was amiss and her letter fell into the wrong hands. She didn't want to make things worse for him.

Thinking that Harry would return to normal after the trial was a dead wish. In fact, he had only gotten worse. He was keeping to himself more, and snapping at her and Ron whenever they said anything. But she didn't let it faze her at all. She kept hope that Harry just needed space and time to himself.

Her focus turned to Draco once more. Seeing him at the welcoming feast had been difficult for her. He looked cold, dark, uncaring and very very distant. He refused to even make eye contact with her. She had sent him letters, but none of them were replied. She was becoming more and more concerned as the days progressed. She didn't know what else to do, because she was pretty sure storming into the Slytherin dungeons would surely end her life.

A month had already passed since the new year began, and nothing had changed. Harry was still being evasive, Draco was still ignoring her, and Professor Umbridge was still teaching them...nothing. Something needed to change. But what and how?

She sighed and slammed her useless DADA textbook closed and leaned back against wooden chair in the empty library. She had stuck to coming to the library every night in hopes of meeting Draco, but it never came to fruition.

A loud crack sounded next to Hermione, causing her to jump out of her skin. She yelped loudly before turning to the sound with her wand out, pointing at whatever it was that startled her. A tiny creature, with huge eyes and floppy ears stared back at her with a nervous smile on its face.

"Dobby!?" Hermione gasped, lowering her wand and hugging the friendly house elf.

"Miss Hermione!" Dobby greeted before pulling away. "Dobby was sent to get you."

"By who, Dobby?" Hermione frowned, and instinctively clutched her wand tighter.

"Dobby isn't allowed to say, miss. Only supposed to bring you to the secret room." Dobby reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Secret room?" Hermione's eyes widened. "Wait, Dobby, no!"

Before Dobby could follow her command, he snapped his fingers and transported Hermione to a room she had never seen before. She stumbled slightly as the light dizziness in her head quickly faded. She steadied herself and looked around in the room in surprise.

The walls were covered in both red and green paint, giving off a sense of peace to her. The room itself was small, but seemed to provide everything she would want. There was a bookshelf running along the left wall, a fireplace built in on the right wall and a long leather couch with a matching armchair settled in middle of the room, between both walls. A long coffee table stood proudly in front of the couch, littered with trays of tiny sandwiches and cookies with cups of hot chocolate. One thing that she did notice, that also seemed to scare her, was that there were no doors in the room.

"Dobby was told to leave you here, miss." Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared again with a loud crack.

Hermione frowned and looked around, unsure of what she should do. Her body and mind led her to the bookshelf, that was packed with rare and unique books about everything from Herbology to the Dark Arts. She raised her hand to lightly touch the spines of some of the books, itching to read them now.

"You can read them." Draco's silky and cold voice reached her from the left corner of the room.

Hermione spun around quickly and stood shock-still, staring into Draco's icy grey eyes. Nothing was said for five complete minutes as they just stood, staring at each other. The longer they observed each other, the deeper Hermione's anger grew. Before she knew what she was doing, she was at the couch, grabbing the fluffy pillows that littered the couch and began to throw them at Draco, one by one. All sense of rationality temporarily erased from her mind; only anger was left. Anger at being ignored. Anger at being worried. Anger at loving someone so much that the thought of him being away from her caused her to become so irrational.

Draco stood stone still as each pillow made it's way across the room and slammed into various parts of his body. His stomach, his shoulder, his chest, and most painful of all...his face. As she reached for the last two pillows, Draco strode across the room and grabbed her hands roughly, causing her to drop the pillows as he pushed her back towards the wall.

Her body slammed into the wall with a hard thud, but as she opened her mouth to complain, Draco's lips was on hers. A sigh of relief flowed through her lungs as she leaned her head up, pressing her lips more firmly against his. He pulled away reluctantly and pressed his forehead against her, breathing her in. He quickly re-memorized her eyes, her nose, the tiny freckles that polluted her cheeks, her mass of curly but soft hair, her scent, and finally, the figure of her body that fit so perfectly against his.

"I love you, so fucking much." Draco whispered. "I'm so sorry...it's been very difficult for me…"

"I know." Hermione looked up at him lovingly. "I know Draco. I love you too. I've missed you...selfishly."

"No Hermione, never selfishly. For I've missed you just as much, if not more." he sighed and entwined his fingers with her, bringing her towards the black leather couch.

They sat down in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts of where to begin. Draco finally released a breath of air and reached forward to grab a cup of hot chocolate. He handed her the cup before taking the second one for himself.

"Father was more suspicious of us than mother and I had originally thought." Draco began. "After the first week of being home, he...took away the owl I was using to send letters to you. So, I began using mother's owl, which he discovered very quickly, and took that one away too. Now, all our letters are sent after he reviews them. I'm sorry for not writing more, but I had no choice…"

"Oh Draco!" Hermione placed her cup down and scooted closer to him. "Did he...find out...about us?"

"Thankfully, no." Draco gave her a wry smile. "He didn't get any of our letters, before his new...regime."

"How bad is it?" she looked directly into his eyes, so he couldn't hide the truth from her.

"He's teaching me...new spells...new curses...and he's training me to...endure...the unforgivable curses." he revealed.

"Draco!" Hermione pulled back as tears began to form in her eyes.

"It's ok, Hermione." he whispered soothingly, pulling her back against his chest. "I can handle it. What I can't handle is being away from you. I couldn't even sneak away to come find you because...I'm not the only one who's being trained by his father. Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy are in Voldemort's group too, with their parents. So, they've been sticking to me more than usual."

A pang of jealousy surged through Hermione at the mention of Pansy's name. The idea of Pansy Parkinson rubbing up against Draco was enough to make her pull away and pace the room.

"Hermione, she means nothing to me." Draco groaned, knowing exactly what had caused Hermione's change in emotion. "You know this already. You know I love you. Please, don't lose faith in me now. I'm trying my best to deal with everything, but it will be all for nothing if you're not there for me at the end of all this. In fact...I'll lose my mind if I know that you're not supporting me...or believing in me…"

Hermione stopped pacing and sighed, turning to look at him. He was right. She needed to keep believing in him. She knew the real him, more than anyone else. She loved him. Her heart belonged to him. The least she could do was be more supportive.

"What is this room?" she wondered as she glanced around again.

"Ah." Draco's pale cheeks turned crimson slightly. "Well...Severus did this. He knew that it was harder for me lately to see you, so...he spoke with Dumbledore and they created this room for...us. Only you and I...and well, Professor Dumbledore and Severus, of course...can enter the room. We can stay here as much as we like, as long as it's safe enough to be away from our...other...classmates."

"Dumbledore knows!?" Hermione shrieked.

"Apparently he knew before Snape did." Draco chuckled.

"Why did they make this room for us though." she frowned.

"Because...things are going to get very hard for me." Draco revealed. "And you are my reminder of humanity...goodness...and love. I'll need to remember those things as things progress."

"How much harder can they get?" Hermione's eyes revealed the worry she was trying to hide for so long.

"Voldemort wants me and the others to take the Dark Mark soon." He stood up and walked over to the bookshelves. "The Dark Mark isn't just a way for him to call us to him. It's a lot more than that. He would be able to feel our emotions. He will know how much I...love you."

"Draco, what are we going to do!?" she rushed over to his side and grabbed his arm.

"Severus is teaching me...occlumency." Draco said, surprisingly her completely.

"I've only read about that." Hermione murmured. "It's very hard...only the most powerful wizards can master it."

"Severus is the best at it." he revealed. "Apparently Dumbledore has requested him to teach it to Harry as well, soon."

Hermione stepped away and returned to her pacing. Draco tilted his head to the side in concern, watching her closely.

"Harry has been so distant." Hermione finally admitted. "I don't know what's going on. He seems so...lost. I want to help him. I want to be there for him. But he keeps pushing me and Ron away."

"Just keep trying." Draco sat back down on the couch and reached for a sandwich. "Right now though, Harry needs to be learning more spells and curses. Fuck, we all do at this point. Umbridge doesn't teach us anything and it's because...she's working for Voldemort."

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed a second time that evening. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope." Draco shook his head. "That's what you should be working on now. Teaching yourself new spells and curses. In fact, I should probably teach you myself."

"No." Hermione gasped suddenly and quickly moved to the couch next to Draco. The look in her eyes told Draco that she was forming a new idea. He'd seen thst look too many times before. "We have to teach...everyone."

"They won't want to learn anything from me." Draco laughed. "And you know that will ruin my secret identity."

"True." Hermione smirked. "But you could teach me, and I could teach them."

"They won't want to learn from you." he said as he thought about the idea more. "They'll want to learn from Harry. But...you could teach Harry, since you help both him and Ron with their school work."

"Draco Malfoy, you are a genius." she beamed.

"You and I have both established that fact a long time ago." he chuckled as he pulled her closer to him. "Now, I've been away from you for over a month. Can we stop trying to save the wizarding world and focus on some other needs."

"What needs?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, for example, my lips need to be covered by yours." he wiggled his eyebrows, causing her to laugh as he leaned in and kissed her soundly.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **So, this is where things get really different from the books. The main plots are being kept, but I hope you can see and appreciate my twists to them. Let me know your thoughts guys! Thanks for liking and reviewing! 3 3**_


	10. Chapter 10

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

The air around the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place was dripping with nervous relief as everyone welcomed Arthur Weasley back home from his short stay at St. Mungos. Harry looked on as the entire Weasley clan huddled around Mr. Weasley, greeting him and assuring him of their love. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as he watched how happy they all were together. He would never feel that sense of security that a family offered, but he was grateful for his friends at least. He peeled his eyes away from the family reunion and glanced around for Hermione. She had been acting very distant as of late and he was determined to find out why over the Christmas break.

He moved away from the kitchen and walked down the hallway towards the library. As expected, she was huddled near the fire with a huge tome opened in her small lap. He stood in the doorway, studying her for a moment. The way her body looked limped and drained, with her eyes looking dull with dark bags underneath them, made him realise that she was holding more back than he had originally thought. He'd never seen a stressed out or a depressed looking Hermione before, and he was jilted slightly. He cleared his throat and stepped into the room, but stopped suddenly as he watched her wipe tears from her eyes and cheeks before raising her head to give him a bright smile. A smile that he knew now was completely fake.

"Harry!" Hermione greeted. "Is Mr. Wealsey back yet?"

"Yes." Harry answered. "He's in the kitchen with the rest of them."

"Oh...then I should go welcome him home." Hermione closed the book and stood up, placing it on the nearest table before crossing the room towards the doorway.

"Why were you crying." Harry asked, making her stop midway.

"I'm not." she lied.

"Stop lying." Harry sighed. "You were crying in here alone. You've also been very distant lately, and I haven't been seeing you often after dinner at Hogwarts either. What the hell is going on, 'mione?"

"I don't know what you mean, Harry." Hermione frowned as she tried to walk past him.

"Talk to me, Hermione." Harry pleaded as he grabbed her arm. "You're always helping me and Ron. Let me help you now."

"There's nothing wrong with me." Hermione sighed and pushed past him. "I'm fine."

She turned on her heel and walked up the stairs to her room, instead of going to greet Mr. Weasley. But that just made Harry more certain that there was something wrong with her. She would never have dismissed Mr. Weasley's return if she was really alright. He frowned to himself and decided to follow her.

Hermione disappeared into her room and began pacing back and forth. Pacing had become her new stress reliever, and she had been found doing it a lot more than usual. She knew what was wrong. Her mind and heart were being tortured. She was worried about Draco, and couldn't stop thinking of the horrible things that his father was most likely putting him through. She was worried about her parents. She knew that they had wanted to see her this Christmas to affirm that she was really doing ok, and she couldn't deny that she wanted to see them too. But, once again, Dumbledore had decided that the trio should stay together at the Black's residence for the Christmas break, out of safety reasons.

In her mind, the safest place for them all would have been at Hogwarts, but with Mr. Weasley getting attacked, she knew that Harry and Ron would want to see him. So, she said goodbye to Draco, not liking the way his face looked distant and strained before she left, and came to Sirius' house for the break. But, in the entire time she'd spent in the house thus far, the only thoughts on her mind were Draco and her parents.

Everything seemed to be going well now with Harry and Ron. Since they had formed the DA group, they were all becoming more confident in their abilities. She knew that they all needed to thank Draco for that. He was the one who taught her new and advanced spells, which she ended up teaching to Harry, who then taught the rest of the group. Their group, as well, had grown from just a few close friends, to full club of 29 members. They were all becoming more powerful with each session. Even Neville was improving, and that alone made them all proud.

Knowing that everyone was fine for the time being, she was free to focus on the person who mattered to her the most, and that caused her to...pace. She sighed to herself and flopped down on her bed in frustration. She couldn't write to him, there was no way to call him, and she couldn't even use the floo network to check in with him.

A loud crack caused her to gasp in surprise, but she instantly smiled at the welcoming face of Dobby. The house elf gave her his usual nervous smile before handing her a large package wrapped in green and gold paper.

"Professor Snape sent Dobby to give you this, Miss Hermione Granger." Dobby explained. "And Dobby is to wait until you've opened it and read what's inside."

Hermione merely nodded her head and quickly unwrapped the package. A folded letter dropped out from the wrapping paper and was forgotten for a minute as her eyes widen from the book that was now in her lap. It was a first edition version of A History of Magic. She was never able to buy one before because it was so expensive, but she checked it out at the Hogwarts library every year. The bindings on this copy was in pristine condition, as were the pages, so she knew that the previous owner had taken meticulous care of it.

She gently placed the book down on the bed, as she wiped the tears, that she hadn't even realised had fallen from her eyes, and picked up the folded letter. She frowned slightly as she tried every which way to open the letter, but nothing happened.

"Dobby...what is this?" Hermione wondered.

"Well...Dobby knows of those letters, miss." Dobby backed away slightly. "Miss Hermione Granger needs to give...proof...before the letter opens, miss."

"Proof?" Hermione scrunched up her eyebrows together and began to think. It only took her a second to realise what she had to do.

She hopped off the bed and walked over to her trunk, pulling out the cutting knife from her potions set. She returned to the bed and closed her eyes, wincing slightly as she sliced her palm. She dripped some of her blood onto the folded paper and watched closely as the paper opened itself up to her. She looked up quickly as Dobby snapped his fingers together, a bandage appearing in his waiting hand. He gently pulled her damaged hand towards him and began to tend to it.

"Miss Hermione Granger needs to read." Dobby said softly.

She gave Dobby a grateful smile before looking down at the perfectly written letter.

' _ **My Dearest Hermione,**_

 _ **I officially hate Christmas. I hate not being able to see you. I hate not being able to hold you or kiss you. I know that you're probably having a good Christmas with your friends, but I know you better than anyone else. I know that deep down...you're missing your parents. I wish to make you happy always. I promised you a long time ago that I would always be there for you. So...take Dobby's hand and accept my second gift. I love you, and I need you...but I can handle myself...for you…**_

 _ **Love, Your Dark Angel'**_

Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes as she placed the letter on her bed, next to the book. She sniffled as she looked down at Dobby.

"Where are we going Dobby?" she wondered.

"Dobby isn't allowed to say, miss Hermione Granger." Dobby gave her a nervous smile again and gently took her hand in his.

A loud crack sounded in her room as they disappeared. She closed her eyes to keep her dizziness under control and only opened them again once they were back on the ground. She glanced around at the brightly lit and decorated house as more tears came to her eyes. She looked down at a sheepish looking Dobby before bending down to kiss his cheeks softly.

"Thank you, Dobby." she whispered to him. "You are...by far...the best house elf anyone could ever have the privilege of being friends with. Happy Christmas."

Dobby's cheeks flushed slightly as he gave her a small smile before snapping his fingers again disappearing. Hermione gulped quickly and made her way up the front path towards the front door. Tears were freely flowing down her cheeks at this point as she raised her finger to push the doorbell.

"Dad." she breathed out as the front door opened to reveal her father, dressed in his cheesy snowman Christmas jumper.

Her father didn't say word as he grabbed her and pulled her into a crushing embrace. Hermione clung to him as her tears increased.

"Come on, you're mom's been waiting for you." he chuckled through his own sobs as he closed the door behind them.

Hermione followed him into the kitchen to find her mother, leaning over a bubbling pot of what smelled like beef stew.

"Mom." Hermione choked out.

Miss Granger dropped her spoon and made her way around the kitchen's island to wrap her arms around her only child.

"Oh, darling." Miss Granger kissed her head gently.

"I missed you mum, both you and dad." Hermione confessed.

"We missed you too, my dear." Miss Granger kissed her again. "This is now the best Christmas the Grangers have ever experienced."

"Yes." Hermione admitted. "This is the best...gift I've ever gotten."

"Better than the book?" Draco's voice caused her to stiffen instantly.

She pulled away from her mother as she turned slowly to stare at the white-blond haired young man, standing near her father. A fresh set of tears began to fall from her eyes as she quickly ran over to Draco.

He lifted her easily and spun her around, wrapping his arms around her as he returned her feet to the floor. Hermione looked up at him, noting his sunken eyes and tired expression before leaning up to slam her lips against his hard. Draco responded in kind as he pulled her against his body. A clearing of throats brought them out of their little world and back to reality.

"Oh." Hermione murmured as she pulled away from Draco slightly.

"She's even more gorgeous than your described, Draco." an unknown voice sounded from behind them, in the living room.

Hermione spun around quickly to face the person, pushing Draco behind her protectively. However, once she noticed the white-blond hair of the regal postured woman standing in front of her, she instantly relaxed.

"Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione breathed out as she stepped forward to the woman who had acted like her surrogate mother since first year, through correspondences.

"Oh no you don't darling." Mrs. Malfoy stepped up and grabbed both of Hermione's hands in hers. "You call me Narcissa. Draco didn't tell me how beautiful you truly are. Look at this thick curly hair!"

Hermione's face reddened from the praise, but she kept her wits about her.

"How…?" she wondered as she glanced between Narcissa and Draco.

"How are we able to be here?" Narcissa finished for her. "Well, Lord Voldemort is currently at our house and I decided to take Draco out tonight for a mother-son Christmas date."

"They weren't suspicious?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Of course they were." Narcissa chuckled. "Which is why I allowed Lord Voldemort to read my mind. I'm very well trained in controlling my thoughts when it's being prodded. I'm sure Draco has told you, Severus Snape is an excellent teacher."

"How are you, though?" Hermione asked as she stared into Narcissa's eyes, revealing how much she genuinely cared for the woman.

"Ah...yes...you will be the perfect addition to our family." Narcissa whispered softly as she noticed the love coming from Hermione's expression. "I approved before, Draco, but now...I'm 100% sure. She's the one for you. I always wanted a daughter with your intelligence and magical abilities."

Hermione's face flushed again as she gave Narcissa a thankful smile.

"Now, I know that you want to spend some time with Draco, but we have lots to talk about first." Narcissa pulled her towards the leather living room couch.

They sat down, facing each other with smiles on their faces. Draco stared at his mother and the girl he had come to fall in love with and couldn't help but be relieved. He knew that his mother liked Hermione from the very beginning, despite her blood status. But seeing Narcissa interact so genuine and caring with her in person was a sight to behold. If any other aristocratic family could see this now, they would surely get a heart attack.

Draco moved to take the remaining seat next to Hermione while Mr. Granger sat in his arm chair, holding Mrs. Granger, who was perched on the arm of the chair with her hands wrapped around her husband's neck. Draco reached out and clasped his hand over Hermione's, and that's how they spent the rest of the evening. All thoughts of Harry, Ron and even Lord Voldemort, was temporarily placed in the back of their minds.

* * *

Harry Potter waited a full 5 mins after he heard the final crack from Hermione's bedroom before pushing open the door to find her gone. He had recognized Dobby's voice, but he couldn't understand what was going on. He glanced around the room until he spotted the pristine book and a letter sitting on her bed. He walked over to it and picked up the letter. Before he could read anything really, the inked words began to fade quickly. The only thing he could read was the person's signature. Now, the only thing on his mind was figuring out who 'The Dark Angel' could be.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Here's another one for you guys! Leave the comments below, letting me know what you think! Thank you for all the feedback. You guys are so freaking awesome! I'm glad you're loving this story! :)**_


	11. Chapter 11

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

Hermione ran as fast as she could through the Forbidden Forest and back up to the castle. She was only a few seconds behind Harry's heels, but she could tell that he was a faster runner. She made a quick mental note to start jogging on a regular basis because she was almost out of breath and she knew that being a practised runner would clearly come in handy for the future. Harry had stopped glancing back at her and was focused solely on returning to the castle. It was obvious that his mind was revolving around rescuing Sirius.

They began to run faster as they spotted the bridge, but suddenly stopped as they noticed their friends running across the bridge towards them.

"What happened!?" Harry fired, looking at Ron. "How'd you get away."

"Tricked those two idiots." Ron smirked as he handed Harry his wand back. "Crabbe and Goyle really are thicke."

"Not to mention, Draco's a little pussy." Neville added. "He just turned and ran away after Crabbe and Goyle fell unconscious."

Ginny moved over to Hermione and returned her wand. Hermione gave Ginny a grateful smile before looking around for a pair of grey eyes.

"Ok, I've got to go get Sirius." Harry stated as he started to walk away.

"You still don't get it, do you." Ron snapped. "We're coming with you. You're not alone here, Harry. Besides, haven't we been training all year for this?"

"Where's Umbridge?" Luna's fairy-like voice sounded among them.

"We got attacked by centaurs, and they took her." Hermione answered the light blond girl. "And, Ron's right Harry...we're coming with you. Always."

"How do we even get to the ministry though?" Ron wondered.

"We fly, of course." Luna pointed towards the forest. "Thestrals."

"Yes, Luna!" Harry beamed before turning around and running back to the forest.

"I hate flying…" Hermione murmured to herself as everyone ran past her towards the forest.

She looked around once more before sighing softly and following the path the other's had begun to take. As they ran deeper into the forest, darkness began to surround them.

"Up there!" Harry called out as he lead them all towards the pack of Thestrals.

Hermione, still not having been able to see the skeletal creatures, began to follow everyone before she felt his presence. She waited until everyone had run far enough out of earshot before spinning around and staring into the loving pair of grey eyes she'd been longing to see.

Before she could say his name, or anything, he moved swiftly from behind his hiding place and pulled her hard against his chest, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

"I thought she…" Draco tried to say.

"I'm fine." Hermione reassured him.

They released each other as someone called Hermione's name in the distance.

"It's Sirius...I have to go with him." Hermione said.

"I know." Draco frowned. "He's going to be there...Voldemort I mean...and my father...and...and...me…"

Hermione's eyes widened as she looked up at Draco sharply. Draco grabbed her shoulders harshly and stared deeply into her eyes.

"I will protect you." Draco promised. "They won't know it's me...but I will be protecting you."

"Draco…" Hermione felt tears forming in her eyes. "You need to be...careful...and I...I-"

"I know...I love you." he slammed his lips down upon hers, causing all the words she wanted to say to temporarily disappear.

"I love you too." Hermione breathed out as he pulled away.

"Go...I'll see you there." Draco reached up and stroked her cheek lovingly before turning around and running back, in the direction of the castle's entrance.

Hermione stared after Draco a bit too long because Ron appeared at her side, frowning down at her.

"What's the matter, m'ione?" Ron inquired.

"Nothing." Hermione answered too quickly.

Ron glanced around at the darkness, looking for what...he didn't even know.

"Hermione, come on." he said a bit too harshly. "They're all waiting for you."

"I hate flying." Hermione muttered as she turned around and followed Ron towards the thestrals.

"Hey." Ron sighed softly and reached out to clasp her hand between his. "I'll fly right next to you, so if anything happens, I'll be there to catch you."

Hermione glanced down at their entwined hands, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She lifted her eyes to meet Harry's curious green orbs and immediately pulled away from Ron.

"Let's go." she said firmly as Luna brought the invisible thestral over to her.

Nothing further was said as everyone mounted the creatures that only Luna and Harry could see. Hermione gripped onto her theatral as they flew over the castle and towards London. She kept her eyes closed as they flew over a very busy London. It took them some time, but before they knew it, they were inside the empty ministry and running down to the Department of Mysteries. Everyone placed their trust in Harry as he pulled open a large door and entered a dimly lit room.

The room itself was filled with never ending shelves. Each row on the shelves held hundreds of white glowing balls, each a different size. Attached to each ball was a tag with a name or place on it.

"Harry...what are we looking for, exactly?" Hermione wondered.

"Sirius." Harry answered simply. "He's supposed to be here...somewhere."

"Uh...guys...this has Harry's name on it." Neville said in a whisper.

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned simultaneously towards the ball Neville was pointing at. Hermione took a deep breath then because she knew that it was a trap all along. She had had her suspicions, like they all did, but now it was confirmed.

"Don't…" Hermione said softly as Harry reached up for the glowing ball.

"Why not?" Harry glanced at Hermione. "It has my name on it."

"It's sitting in this room here for a reason." Hermione pointed out. "I really don't think it's meant for you to take. Or maybe, this is what Voldemort was trying to get you to get for him!"

"It has my name on it, Hermione." Harry reiterated as he grabbed the ball.

"Very good, Miss Granger." A deep voice boomed behind them.

Everyone turned and stared at the pair of wizards slowly walking towards them with death eater masks covering their faces. Hermione instantly noticed the long flowing white blonde hair from the one who had spoken and knew that it was Lucius Malfoy. Her eyes instantly darted around as she spotted more death eaters coming after them from their left and right.

"Now, why don't you hand me that prophecy Mr. Potter." Lucius said as he outstretched his hand towards Harry.

"Like hell." Harry snapped.

A loud cackling laugh exploded around them as the death eater next to Lucius took a step forward. The laugh was distinctive of belonging to the insane witch, Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione would never admit this to anyone, but the sheer madness that erupted from within Bellatrix terrified her immensely.

"Bellatrix Lestrange…" Neville breathed out as he moved closer to Harry's side.

"Neville Longbottom, right?" Bellatrix pulled off her mask as gave him a smirk. "How's mom and dad?"

Neville instantly raised his wand and pointed it at Bellatrix, signalling the chain of events. Everyone raised their wands at the same time, pointing it at the various death eaters whom had suddenly appeared around them, which caused each death eater to raise their wands in retaliation.

"Now now...let's not jump to violence." Lucius said in a calming tone. "The answer here is simple, Potter. Give me the prophecy and you and your friends can leave unharmed. I highly doubt you want to fight 12 death eaters. It'll be two to one in that case."

"I'd rather die than give anything to Voldemort." Harry spat out. "Now!"

Luna and Ginny raised their wands and screamed "Reducto!", causing multiple prophecies to fall off the shelves, effectively distracting the other death eaters. Using this time wisely, the group turned and ran down the only free aisle. They ran as fast as they could while shooting spells at the trailing death eaters.

"We need to get out of here!" Hermione yelled above all the chaos as the group began to split up.

"We need to find a way out first, don't you think!?" Ron shouted back with a hint of fear in his voice.

As Hermione turned to her right to run down another aisle, her eyes roamed over a death eater with short white blonde hair. Her heart leapt into her throat as Draco pointed towards another aisle. She didn't acknowledge him, out of fear that someone might notice her reaction to him, but instead took his hidden advice and ran down the selected aisle.

"This way!" she yelled out as she shot a stunning spell in the face of a death eater who was closing in her on her.

The death eater screamed out as he flew back from her. She gave a quick glance behind her and noticed that everyone had returned to the original group. Harry gave her a quick nod as they ran towards the door at the end of the aisle. They slammed into the door together and instantly began screaming as they began free falling down a seemingly neverending hole.

Suddenly they were jolted to a stop few inches above the ground before finally landing on the cold hard surface. Everyone stood up slowly, and began checking each other over for injuries.

"Everyone ok?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Yes." Luna replied, even though she had a bloody lip.

Ron looked around confused for a second before coming to a feeling of clarity. He had been hit by a confundus charm, but seemed fine either way. Ginny and Neville were both unharmed, as was Harry. Hermione was perfectly fine, but she suspected that was probably because of Draco.

They finally looked around the new room they were in, noticing that the only thing in the room was a tall, mirror-like structure that was situated in the middle of the room. Hermione's eyes wandered around for an exit.

"Over there!" she pointed towards another door across the room. "Let's go."

"Wait...do you hear that?" Harry asked as he moved closer to the mirror. "There's voices coming from inside this...thing…"

"I can hear it too." Luna piped up, but she didn't move towards it.

"Harry...we should go." Hermione warned as a bad feeling landed in her gut.

A series of black apparitions encased the room, blocking everyone from seeing anything and before they knew it each of them were being held prisoner by a death eater, staring up at Harry, who was now in the middle of the room, facing Lucius.

"Enough now." Lucius growled out. "Give me the damn prophecy, Potter, if you truly value your friends lives!"

"Don't do it Harry!" Neville shouted, from Bellatrix's side.

Hermione turned her head slightly, avoiding the horrid breath of Rabastan Lestrange. She looked around and noticed that Draco was standing off to the side in the shadows with a few other death eaters. Her eyes returned to Harry and Lucius, as Harry began to hand over the prophecy.

A flash of white light appeared as the figure of Sirius Black formed behind Lucius. Harry's eyes widened in both relief and shock, causing Lucius to frown and slowly turn towards Sirius.

"Get the fuck away from my godson." Sirius breathed out angrily before punching a surprised Lucius in the face.

Lucius crumpled to the floor, dropping the valuable prophecy, which shattered instantly, as multiple flashes of white light appeared in the dark room. The death eaters released their hostages and began to fight the aurors head on.

Hermione wanted to run over to Harry and Sirius, but they were busy battling both Lucius and Bellatrix, in a rather formidable fashion. Tonks appeared at Hermione's side with the other teens, protecting them all as she tried to usher them towards the exit.

Hermione blindly followed her group, but her eyes were glued to Harry and Sirius. She gasped in horror as Bellatrix Lestrange threw the killing curse at an unsuspecting Sirius. But a shield formed around Sirius, protecting him completely. Hermione looked around quickly and spotted Draco lowering his wand from the direction of the shield. No one else seemed to have noticed as Draco glanced over to her, making sure she was safe with Tonks before disappearing from the room with his father.

Bellatrix, now realising that she was outnumbered, threw a cruciatus curse at Sirius, causing him to drop to the ground in pain before running away, cackling crazily. Hermione broke away from the group to rush over to Harry and Sirius, but Harry, too enraged to be stopped, took off after Bellatrix. Lupin gave Hermione a firm nod as he hovered over Sirius. She nodded back before running after Harry. She skidded to a halt as she watched Harry attempt the cruciatus curse on Bellatrix in the middle of the Ministry for Magic's lobby, but it wasn't very effective. She hid behind a pillar and watched the scene unfold.

Voldemort's voice erupted in the lobby, urging Harry to work harder at his curse on Bellatrix, but the second Voldemort's physical form appeared, Harry pulled away. Bellatrix, using the distraction effectively, ran towards the closest apparition point and disappeared. Hermione wanted to run over to Harry, knowing that he was going to fight Voldemort, but the appearance of Professor Dumbledore stilled her movements.

She watched as Harry was pushed aside by Dumbledore and kept immobile as both Dumbledore and Voldemort battled each other. Hermione stared in awe at the level of magic these two opponents were using on each other, but there was never any doubt that Dumbledore was the better of the two.

Seeing this battle between the two enemies made her even more determined to learn as much magic as she could. She watched as Voldemort, realising that there was no way he could defeat Dumbledore, disappeared. He entered Harry's mind and it took everything Hermione had in her to not rush to Harry's side while Harry fought off Voldemort's mind intrusion. She glanced at her side as she felt the others walk over to her. Ron reached over and grabbed her hand, making her feel uncomfortable again as they all watched Harry writhe in pain. They knew that this was something he needed to do on his own, but it still hurt them all to watch.

Her eyes noticed a slight movement to the right of her and she glanced over just in time to see Draco's hidden figure. She beamed at him before noticing the look of pain on his face. She frowned slightly and moved her eyes to the direction of Draco's...only to realise that he was staring at Ron's hand clasped tightly around hers. Hermione, knowing that she was causing Draco pain, quickly pulled her hand away from Ron, but it was too late. Draco had already disappeared.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I'm so sorry for the long delay, but the Holidays were very busy for me and my family. Here's a new update though! Longest chapter so far! :)**_

 _ **Also, as you guys can tell now, this is when things will differ from the original story. I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know your thoughts! :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

The summer before their sixth year was coming to an end and Hermione was finally ready to admit that something was seriously wrong between her and Draco. After the fight at the Ministry of Magic, they had all returned to Hogwarts completely changed. They now bore the scars of real battle and they all seemed to have matured over night. Draco had done a fine job at ignoring and avoiding Hermione at all costs.

During their last few weeks of classes, he refused to even glance at her. In the Great Hall, he never even lifted his head to acknowledge her. Their private room had become cold and empty upon every visit she managed to get in, which meant he had never checked into the room since they returned from the Ministry. What hurt her the most though was seeing every letter she wrote to him being returned to her unopened. She had hoped that with time he would given in and finally write to her at least, letting her know what was going on. She doubted that Ron holding her hand was the reason behind all this...silence. There had to be something more.

So, she spent her summer alone at first before going to the Weasley's. Her parents, of course, inquired as to why Draco wasn't visiting that summer. She had lied to them easily enough, and they believed her every time. She had one more week before they all needed to go on the Hogwarts Express, and she vowed now to write to Narcissa. Maybe his mother would give her some insight as to what was happening with Draco.

She sat up in her cot and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill with ink from her bag. She quickly began writing a letter that she hoped wasn't going to sound too desperate.

' _Dearest Narcissa,_

 _I've had no news from Draco and I'm getting very concerned. All I wish to know is if everything is alright, and if you are both safe? Draco hasn't spoken with me since the incident at the Ministry and I'm wondering if something is amiss that I don't know about._

 _Please, let me know how you both are._

 _Love,_

 _Curly Genius'_

She quickly casted a protective spell on the letter and handed it to her owl. She stared out the window as her last bit of hope soared into the sky and disappeared. She put away her stationery and stood up to stretch before making her way down the various staircases of the Weasley's unique home and walking into the quiet living room. She looked out the window and smiled a bit as she watched the entire family, with the exception of Mrs. Weasley, playing Quidditch. The teams were evenly divided; Harry, Ron and Fred, versus Mr. Weasley, George, and Ginny. It seemed as if a bet was currently in play since they were all playing very seriously.

The sound of pans banging about in the kitchen indicated where Mrs. Weasley was currently. Hermione walked into the kitchen to find a particularly disheveled Mrs. Weasley, flitting about the kitchen while four different pots were boiling on the stove.

"Can I help?" Hermione offered.

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley jumped slightly, and looked up in surprise before softening her look into one of affection. "No dear, I have everything under control. Why don't you go outside and play quidditch with them? I've actually never seen you play before though…"

"I'm terrified of flying." Hermione revealed as she turned crimson. "Besides, they seem to be playing very...strongly...which means there's some sort of bet involved."

"I don't know how they can be so competitive." Mrs. Weasley shook her head as she stared at Hermione's blushing face. "Come dear, help me chop the vegetables to add to my soup."

Hermione beamed. It was common knowledge that Mrs. Weasley never allowed anyone to assist her in the kitchen. The matriarch was too proud and confident of her cooking to condone any help offered to her. So, this was clearly a monumental turn of events in Hermione's eyes.

She quickly moved over to the chopping board with the vegetables laid out perfectly and began chopping. Once Mrs. Weasley gave her approval after the first carrot, she began to cut faster. Cooking was a passion of Hermione's. It reminded her of potion making, something that she sincerely missed doing every summer. They worked in harmonious silence, quickly producing a vegetable soup, beef stew, shepherd's pie, roast and mincemeat pies baking in the oven. Mrs. Weasley gave a slightly exhausted Hermione a side smirk before pulling out two whiskey glasses and bottle of firewhisky from inside the jar marked 'flour'.

"I trust you to keep my secret." Mrs. Weasley said as she poured some firewhisky into the two glasses before returning the bottle to it's hiding place and handing a glass to Hermione. "Every cook deserves a bit of alcohol for their hard work. You've definitely earned it, my dear."

Hermione grinned and accepted the glass graciously, sipping the drink for the first time in her life. She winced as the inside of her throat suddenly began burning as if it was on fire. She coughed a bit, causing Mrs. Weasley to chuckle as she led them into the living room for a bit of rest.

"Now, I know that you and those two boys out there have secrets." Mrs. Weasley began. "And I know that you, three, are always making plans. But, this summer, you've seemed more down than usual. You can tell me anything Hermione. You should know by now that I love you like my very own daughter. So, what's the matter my dear?"

A bright blush rose to Hermione's cheeks. She lowered her eyes to the glass and hid her smile. She knew that even though Mrs. Weasley claimed to love her like a daughter, there was no way she would understand what Hermione was going through. It was no secret that Mrs. Weasley had high hopes for Hermione and Ron to change their friendship to that of something more intimate. She hated to disappoint the loving older woman, but there was no hope for her and Ron.

Now that she thought about it, Ron had been acting a lot more...intimate...to her lately. She would catch him staring at her at times, or reaching to squeeze her hand whenever they were having a conversation. In fact, just the night before Ron had leaned forward during their conversation and gently removed some toothpaste from the side of her mouth. She had felt very nervous and disturbed by his actions, and vowed to warn him next time it happened.

"Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley pressed.

"I've just been worrying about...my parents." Hermione lied. "Things are getting worse in the wizarding world...and also the muggle world, so I'm worried that they might get...attacked...because of me."

"Oh my dear, I'm sure that your parents will be fine." Mrs. Weasley gave her a reassuring smile. "The order has someone checking in and watching them closely every day. So don't worry too much, alright?"

"I wasn't aware of that…" Hermione murmured in slight surprise.

"I know." Mrs. Weasley finished her drink and stood up. "Well, I best go check on the food in the oven. Can you go out and tell them to come in and get cleaned up for dinner?"

Hermione nodded and quickly finished her drink, handing her glass to the waiting Mrs. Weasley before stepping outside into the huge yard. She waved in the air until Ginny spotted her and flew towards her. She quickly relayed the message and decided to go get cleaned up herself. As she stepped into Ginny's bedroom, she spotted a letter waiting for her on her bed. She gasped and bit down on her lower lip. She wanted to read it's contents instantly, but she could hear the trample of footsteps downstairs as everyone was returning to their respective rooms to get ready. She quickly hid the letter securely and went into the bathroom to wash her hands and face.

Dinner was it's usual loud and rambunctious affair, filled with chatter and a little teasing in Ron's direction from Fred and George. After dinner everyone went their separate ways. Ron disappeared for a shower and Ginny had sneaked away with Harry for some alone time. It wasn't official yet, but it was obvious that the two had feelings for each other. Once everyone was busy, Hermione grabbed her letter and went to a hidden section of the garden that she had found a few days ago. She knew that no one would come looking for her just yet, so she had enough time to read it.

She quickly settled herself in her hidden corner and bit down on her finger until it bleed slightly before touching the paper with her blood. The contents of the paper suddenly appeared and she easily recognized Narcissa's handwriting.

" _My Dearest Hermione,_

 _I'm glad to hear from you at last. I know now that my worry about Draco's sudden attitude change isn't in vain. Draco has been very distant with me lately. I've only received cordial greetings at meal times, but the rest of the day he spends hiding in his room. I had hoped that he was at least conversing with you, but after reading your letter, I am now thoroughly concerned._

 _Perhaps if you saw him...you could try to speak with him? I'm sending him to Diagon Alley tomorrow for a special book I ordered. He should be in Flourish and Blotts tomorrow by 11am. If you can get there, maybe you can see how he really is?_

 _I don't expect another letter tonight. But know that I love you like the daughter I always wanted to have, and you have my support with anything you might need._

 _Love,_

 _The Angel Mother"_

Hermione read the letter again before folding it back up and leaned back against a tree trunk, staring up at the night sky. She reached up to touch her cheek and wipe away the tears that were now falling from her eyes. She would have felt better knowing that Draco was at least confiding in his mother. But now, she was even more worried than before. She had to get to Flourish and Blotts tomorrow. There was no negotiating. She needed to see him. She needed to confront him.

"Hermione?!" Ron's voice echoed from somewhere in the distance..

She had been gone long enough. She quickly hid the letter in her pocket and made her way back to the house. She placed a bright fake smile on her face as she spotted Ron and Harry looking around for her.

"I'm here!" She called towards them as she jogged over.

"Where were you?" Harry wondered.

"I was just walking around the garden." She answered simply. "Hey, I have an idea."

"Uh oh...that usually means school work…or something with books." Ron teased.

Harry chuckled while Hermione shot him a dirty look.

"I was thinking that we could go into Diagon Alley tomorrow." she continued. "Just the three of us."

"I sense Flourish and Blotts written all over this suggestion." Ron murmured.

"Actually...yes." Hermione smiled sheepishly. "I want to pick up a few books that's not on our school's book list. I figured you two could spend some time in the Quidditch store while I browsed Flourish and Blotts."

"That actually sounds good." Ron gave Harry a huge smile. "I am, after all, trying out for Keeper this year. So it'll be nice to get a few things."

"I wouldn't mind checking it out too." Harry smirked. "It'll be nice change from here for a day."

"We can meet at Florean Fortescue after!" Hermione added, knowing that they would never say no to ice cream. "My treat."

"Well geez, Hermione, that's all you had to say." Ron chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked back into the house.

Harry watched closely as Hermione frowned from the gesture and easily slipped out from under Ron's arm. She bid them all goodnight and headed up to Ginny's room. He had meant to talk to Hermione about her feelings for Ron, but he kept getting distracted by other thoughts. He knew how Ron felt because he kept talking about it whenever they were alone, but Hermione's feelings were still unknown. He sensed that something had happened with her recently because of her sober attitude this summer, but she hadn't opened up to them, and he hadn't wanted to press the issue.

"I think I'm going to tell Hermione how I feel tomorrow." Ron whispered to Harry. "What do you think?"

"Um...Ron, I don't know about that." Harry said honestly. "I don't think Hermione is up for a conversation like that…"

"Hogwash!" Ron chuckled. "I know she likes me."

Before Harry could say anything else, Ron waved him off and walked away to the kitchen. Harry sighed and decided to go upstairs to say goodnight to Ginny.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I hope this was a good chapter! Thank you all for the amazing reviews. I'm loving that you're all loving this! Will update soon :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

Hermione coughed and sputtered as she landed in the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace. She looked around and smiled as she spotted Harry and Ron dusting soot off of their clothes. She rolled her eyes and walked over to them, holding her wand out, pointing it directly at the two of them.

"Tergeo!" she commanded as the ashes on the boys clothes disappeared. She quickly repeated the spell on herself and smiled as the boys stared at her in shock.

"Hermione!" Ron snapped. "You're not 17 yet!"

"Ron...because of the time turner...I'm technically 18…" Hermione whispered as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"Does that mean you can apparate already?" Harry wondered.

"Yes." Hermione smiled broadly. "However...I can't do it until we pass the test this year."

"Right." Ron looked away, slightly embarrassed for some reason. "Well, let's go then."

"Hey, thanks, by the way." Harry said softly to Hermione as they walked over to the Diagon Alley's entrance wall.

Ron did the intricate tapping of the stones on the wall and the three of them beamed as the wall slowly parted to allow them passage. The boys rushed ahead, yelling back that they'd meet her at the ice cream parlor for 1pm. Hermione smiled after them as she quickly made her way to Flourish and Blotts.

They had a late start, but she still had, at the most, 5 minutes to spare. She scurried down the cobbled street before coming to the pale green welcoming walls of the famous and popular bookstore. She glanced around slightly before entering the store. To her surprise, the store was almost empty with the exception of one family who was seeming to be taking up all the assistant's time.

If she knew Draco, as well as she believed she did, then he would definitely stop by the dark arts section of the store. So, that's exactly where she went to wait. She browsed over the books on the shelves, but stopped herself from getting too interested in any of them, because she wanted to keep her focus on Draco's arrival.

She was in luck, finally, for no more than 10 minutes had passed before she heard the familiar chiming of the door opening. She peeked out from her hiding place and spotted Draco instantly. Her heart leapt in her throat as tears instantly began stinging her eyes, begging for permission to fall. The man walking over to the Dark Arts section was not the Draco Malfoy she knew.

No...this Draco looked battered and bruised...weak and tired...and overused. His eyes had sunken into his face and the bags underneath were prominent. He was skinnier that she had ever seen him before.

"He's not sleeping or eating…" she whispered to herself.

As if sensing her presence, Draco looked up sharply and instantly met her eyes. His own eyes widened in shock before quickly darting around to assess who else was in the store. Once he was satisfied he turned back to look upon her face before turning and swiftly leaving the store.

Hermione gasped and shot off after him, but even in his weakened state, he still walked faster than her. She blindly followed him into Knockturn Alley, and it wasn't until she was about to lose sight of him that she chose to finally call out to him, risking everything at the same time.

"Draco, please!" she screeched.

Surprised by her outburst, he stopped moving, but refused to turn around and look at her again. Hermione closed the distance between them but stopped as she got within an arm length of him.

"Draco...please...look at me." she pleaded.

He closed his eyes and prayed that no one was around at that moment because if anyone was there, they would both be in heaps of trouble.

"How stupid are you, Granger?" he spat out angrily. "You've just put yourself and myself in danger by coming here and following me into this alley. I thought you had more brains than that, Granger."

Hermione reeled back at the cold words he threw at her. No, this was not her Draco at all.

"Look at me!" she demanded, firmly this time.

"Good bye, Granger. Good luck." he stepped forward with every intention of leaving her there, but her next words caught him off guard.

"Don't you love me anymore...or was it all a joke or worse...was it part of HIS plan?" she growled angrily. "Seduce Potters brainy best friend? Make her focus on you and not Potter? I hate you."

She turned to leave but something roughly pulled her back and dragged her into a hidden alley to the side, away from whoever's eyes might have been on them. He threw her against the wall and bore his angry grey eyes into her hazel sad eyes and finally...he gave in...he couldn't stop himself anymore.

"Oh Hermione…" he breathed out. "How wrong you are…"

He slammed his lips over hers, apparating them at the same time to a much safer place. Hermione, having not seen him, spoken to him, or even kissed him in so long, gave in to the passionate kiss instantly. She reached up and gripped his hair, ignoring the queasiness of apparating.

Once they arrived at Draco's destination of choice, he began getting a bit more aggressive and desperate. Hermione winced slightly as she felt herself being slammed back against a cold wooden wall. Draco reached lower, grabbed her slender legs and lifted her higher, sliding her back along the coarse wood as his tongue slid into her hot mouth.

Hermione released a soft whimper that quickly turned into a moan as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. Draco pulled away from her lips to slide his tongue down her neck before wrapping his cold lips around her jugular vein and began sucking softly.

"Oh...Draco…" Hermione breathed.

"Say it again." he whispered against her neck as he lowered his lips to her collar bone.

"Say...what?" Hermione wondered, her mind too clouded with lust to think straight.

"My name…" he murmured. "I haven't heard it in so long…"

Clarity instantly entered Hermione's haze. It was his fault for ignoring her in the first place. She had planned to confront him and find out what was going on, but here she was, giving herself to him before she even got the answers she so desperately needed.

"Put me down." she said softly.

"What?" Draco stopped his ministrations and glanced up at her.

"Put me down, Draco." she snapped, more firmly.

Draco unhooked his hands from under her legs and slowly lowered her to the sandy floor. Hermione walked away from him quickly, trying to get some air in her lungs and head. As she walked further away from him, she realised that he had apparated them to Durness...a special beach that she'd only read about and only he knew about.

"This is cheating." she mumbled, more to herself.

She quickly turned away from the dark blue water and looked at him. Draco stood at attention behind her, waiting for her to start the conversation.

"Explain." she simply said.

"What, exactly?" he smirked at her.

"Don't play coy." she snapped. "What happened after the attack at the Ministry? Why haven't you spoken to me since? Or your mother?"

Recognition dawned across Draco's face. His mother was to blame for this surprise and problem. He took a deep breath and walked over to Hermione but instead of reaching out for her, he sank down to his knees in the warm sand and pressed his face against her thighs.

"I've been protecting both you and my mother." he finally admitted.

Hermione stared down at the resolute position he had put himself in and couldn't stop the lone tear from falling down her red cheeks. She reached down and gently placed a hand over his head, stroking his barely washed hair. He was worse than she had earlier thought.

"What are you talking about, Draco?" she asked more gently.

"At the ministry...one of the Death Eaters….Dolohov...he was there...he was after you in particular. He hates muggles just as much as Voldemort." Draco said softly. "He realised that most of the spells he was firing at you...I was blocking them from hitting you...he also caught me looking at you while Voldemort and Professor Dumbledore were fighting. He quickly put everything together and attacked me that night when everyone got back to the manor. He tried to read my mind, but he wasn't as good at Legilimens as I am. Nevertheless...he knew enough either way to report me. I brushed him off and he decided to test my loyalty instead, in case Voldemort didn't believe him. He convinced Voldemort to give me a task for next year...a very hard task. He's also been assigned to watch over me...guide me, so to speak. Voldemort, himself, has threatened to hurt my mother if I fail...and well...I had to protect you from Dolohov, so I've been treating you as if you have never existed to me. Both to convince Dolohov that he was wrong in his calculations about us, and also, to protect you. It's been both the hardest and the cruelest thing I've ever done...and it's even worse that I've done it to the person I love…"

The lone tear had turned into a waterfall as Hermione listened to Draco's explanation. She had thought that what he said had happened, but she never had any solid proof until now. As she stared down at Draco's perfect white blond hair, she realised that beyond the waves crashing upon the shore, the only other sound around them was Draco's quiet sobs. Hearing him cry brought Hermione to her own knees as she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him tightly.

"I thought that that was the reason for everything...but the longer you kept ignoring me...I thought...I...I stupidly thought…" Hermione couldn't bring herself to finish her statement.

"You thought what?" Draco pressed as he pulled his head away to look into those hazel brown eyes that had haunted his dreams for months. "Did you really think that I...that I didn't love you anymore?"

"No…yes...yes...that and...I thought you were so upset with Ron holding my hand that this was your way of ending things with me." Hermione confessed.

Draco released a low growl and cupped her cheeks in his hands. He pulled her closer and placed pepper kisses around her eyes, tears, cheeks and the sides of her lips.

"Anyone with half a brain could have seen how uncomfortable you looked when Weasley was holding your hand. If anything, I was angry that he was making you feel so uncomfortable." Draco chuckled lightly. "Hermione, when I told you...so long ago...that I love you...I meant forever. You have to remember...that with everything happening...everything I'm doing...is for you...for us...for our future. But...I know that I've been hurting you. I wish I could take back all those months. I just didn't know how to contact you without someone seeing me. I didn't know who Dolohov had looking at me during the remainder of the school term, at least I didn't know until recently. And over the summer...I've been watched like a hawk. It's been a...hard...summer. I did things that…I'm not proud of...but I had no choice in doing."

"What things...Draco?" Hermione stared into his eyes. "You know you can tell me…"

"I...I'm sorry…" he pulled away from her face and placed his left arm outwards towards her, lifting his black silk shirt slowly, revealing the Dark Mark. "I had to...Lucius...he threatened to kill her if I didn't."

Hermione looked down at the horrific mark, not with disgust or resentfulness, but with pity and regret that she wasn't able to contact him while he was going through that situation over the summer. Draco, seeing the expression on her face, sighed in relief. He was worried that the mark would make her change her feelings about him, but once again, Miss Hermione Granger had proven her true love for him.

"It's ok." she whispered as she lifted his arm to her lips and kissed the mark firmly. "Nothing you do...could ever make me think any less of you."

Overcome with relief, Draco turned around to face the ocean, pulling her into his lap at the same time and wrapping his arms securely around her waist. Hermione pressed her back against his chest and sighed at the slowly returning normalcy.

"Draco, if Dolohov was watching you...and if you think he had someone watching you for him at Hogwarts...why did you bring me here...why did you confront me in the middle of Knockturn Alley?" Hermione wondered. "Won't someone have seen?"

"I grabbed you pretty roughly in Knockturn Alley, so all anyone would think is that I was probably taking you to the Dark Lord myself. As for Dolohov...I know who his connection was at Hogwarts, and Dolohov, himself, is on a mission for the Dark Lord at the moment somewhere in Ireland." Draco whispered. "So, he's not watching me today, and actually...I'm supposed to be doing errands for my mom today, so no one is actually watching me. Snape taught me a little spell he created that allows me to know if someone is following or spying on me. Remind me to teach that to you."

"I see." Hermione sighed. "Sixth year is going to be different...isn't it…"

"Yes." Draco nuzzled the side of her neck. "I believe it's going to be pretty much the same as the ending of last year. The only way for us to...meet...would be if I get called to Professor Snape's office and you just happen to be there."

"Would he even allow that?" she wondered. "He's a very private person."

"It was his idea." Draco whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver slightly. "Actually, he has his own reasons for wanting to help us."

"Lily." Hermione answered the unspoken question as a more troubling question entered her mind. She slowly turned around, wrapping her legs around his waist and running her fingers through his hair. "What is it that Voldemort wants you to do this year?"

"I don't know if I should tell you." he murmured. "It's the worst thing you can imagine."

"Whatever it is, we'll get through it together." she reassured him.

Draco took a huge breath, staring down at the love of his life, knowing that if he actually did tell her about this task, she might leave him. She won't understand, would she?

"He wants me to fix a door in the Room of Requirement that will allow Death Eaters to enter the school." Draco revealed as Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "And...I have to kill Professor Dumbledore."

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I hope this explains a lot of what's going on with Draco! Thanks for all the reviews and love! Until next time!**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The school was buzzing with gossip about the new administrative changes that year so far. It was very controversial to have had a Centaur listed as one of the new teachers, but the shocker came when they were informed that Professor Snape would be taking over the role of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. However, a great round of applause was given to Professor Slughorn, since some of the students had heard about him from their parents.

Hermione groaned to herself as she walked beside Harry and Ron towards their latest Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She had read through her text already and knew that this week they were going to cover Dementors; a topic that the trio had already mastered over a year ago. One thing Hermione despised was being bored, and this session was going to bore her. Maybe reading her ancient runes text during class might appease her problem a bit. Then again, this is Snape's class. She would be definitely be caught.

"Hermione, what's the matter?" Ron wondered as he walked into the DADA classroom with a yawn.

Both he and Harry had spent the evening before at Quidditch practice and decided to stay up all night thinking of new strategies and plays for their upcoming game against Slytherin. Neither one was in the mood for Snape this morning, but since Hermione informed them that the topic was going to be Dementors, they were relieved. Zoning out seemed to be in order for them that morning. Something that they both desperately needed to survive the rest of the day.

"I just wish the topic of the day was a bit more...up to speed for the three of us." Hermione answered honestly. "I mean, we already know all about Dementors."

"Oh hush, 'mione." Harry snapped. "Ron and I could use the break today!"

Hermione stared at Harry in shock and sadness. Ever since their trip to Diagon Alley, Harry had been acting very cold towards her. He hadn't fully forgiven her for being 3 hours late to their meeting point and making them search all over Diagon Alley for her. She hoped that he would forgive her soon because she missed her friend.

She turned her attention to the front of the classroom as Professor Snape sauntered in. He gave them a fowl scowl before pointing his wand to the blackboard. The title "Dementors" appeared, followed by lines of notes on the subject.

"You have 15 minutes." he drawled out before settling into his seat, watching them suspiciously with a permanent frown on his face.

Hermione opened her notebook and began copying the notes on the board. She glanced over at Harry, who was focusing on the task at hand. So far this year, Harry had paid more attention to his DADA classes, especially since Snape was teaching them in secret preparation for the upcoming war. Harry was beginning to truly believe that Snape was an ally, since he was their best DADA professor to date.

"Harry, are you really still mad?" Hermione whispered to him, over Ron.

"If you'd tell me where you went, then I wouldn't be mad." Harry returned.

"I told you, I needed to deal with some...female things!" Hermione insisted.

"Hermione Jean Granger, you have been my best friend for the past 5 years. I've seen you tell the truth and I've seen you lie. You are lying!" Harry hissed.

"I'm not!" she pleaded. "Harry, for goodness sake, what does it matter?"

" _What does it matter_?!" he snapped. "It matters because as best friends, we tell each other everything. Especially with how quickly things are forming right now! We need to be united! You hiding something from us will only make us question what your real motives are!"

"My real motives!?" Hermione shouted.

"Miss Granger!" Snape bellowed. "10 points from Gryffindor! And you will see me after class for details about your future detention. I will not tolerate outbursts!"

"Yes...sorry Professor." Hermione said somberly.

Snape scoffed and returned to staring at the rest of the class. Hermione's face was laced with a depressed look that Harry instantly regretted having caused. He knew she was lying, but something told him that the truth wasn't dangerous. In fact, he believed that it revolved around her 'Dark Angel'. It irked him that she felt like she couldn't confide in him about this mysterious person. His patience was running thin. With everything else he had to deal with, he didn't want to have to deal with worrying about her as well. He released a low sigh and continued to focus on his notes.

The rest of class was spent trying to produce patronuses. Those who were in the DA already knew how to form their own patronuses, but it was interesting to watch the others learn for the first time. By lunchtime, the class was dismissed with the exception of Hermione. Ron gave her a comforting look while Harry blatantly ignored her and walked out the room. Hermione took a deep breath and walked up to the front of the classroom, standing before Snape's desk.

"Sir?" Hermione prompted.

"What is it, Miss Granger?" Snape snapped.

"You...you told me to see you after class?" Hermione raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh! Right, yes." Snape sighed and leaned back against his chair.

Hermione's heart strings were pulled instantly upon seeing how exhausted her favorite professor really was. She wanted to almost walk around his desk and hug him. She wanted to make sure that he knew how many people cared for him...how many people respected him.

"Miss Granger, you will report to my office tonight, at 7pm for detention." Snape continued. "That is all."

Hermione sighed, grabbed her belongings and walked to the door quickly, stopping for a minute to look back at the tired and used man.

"Sir, I don't know if this will help you at all...but thank you for everything you're doing...for all of us…" she said gently.

She quickly shuffled out of the classroom and made her way to the Great Hall for lunch, before he could hex her for her gratitude. She glanced over to the Slytherin table, as was her custom upon entering the Great Hall. She saw that Draco was once again eating very little. She shook her head and moved down the aisle towards Harry and Ron. As she slipped into the empty seat next to Harry, he quickly got up and grabbed his books to leave.

"I'll see you at practice Ron." Harry said before walking out the hall without so much as a look towards Hermione.

"This is ridiculous." Hermione snapped as she slammed her books down before slipping into Harry's recently occupied seat.

"He'll get over it in time, 'mione." Ron reassured her. "But um, since it's just you and me...I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure." Hermione nodded. "Which class is it?"

"It's not school related." Ron cleared his throat and leaned forward a bit. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to...Hogsmeade this weekend with me."

"What about Harry?" Hermione frowned. "Is he really that angry that he's wanting to forgo his first Hogsmeade weekend because he can't stand my presence?"

"No no, Harry's going." Ron sighed softly as his ears turned red. "I meant just you and me."

Confusion graced Hermione's features before a sense of clarity entered her mind.

"OH!" she exclaimed. "Oh...um...I see."

"Yeah, we could maybe go to Madame Puddifoot's together, get some tea and those...tiny sandwiches that you're fond of, and then after we could go to Tomes and Scrolls, I know you love to browse there." Ron babbled on.

Hermione's heart slowly started breaking for him. Everyone around the Gryffindor table had suddenly gone quiet as Ron explained his hopeful plans to her. She looked over at the Slytherin table and noticed that a few of them were also paying attention to the redhead. Her eyes landed on Draco and the angered expression on his face caused her to return her attentions to Ron. She needed to reassure Draco that he really didn't have anything to worry about as soon as possible because he looked as if he was about to Avada Kedavra Ron.

"Ron!" Hermione snapped as Ron was discussing all the different things they could do together. He instantly stopped talking and smiled widely at her with a hopeful expression on his face. "Ron...I'm sorry. But, I don't see you...in that way...you're my best friend...the brother I never had and didn't know I wanted...but I don't have romantic feelings for you. I'm sorry."

With every word she spoke, Ron's face cracked and slowly formed a frown. Everyone around them held their breath in anticipation for Ron's response. He cleared his throat, never taking his eyes off of her.

"That's fine." he lied. "But um…'mione...I was only offering because it looks kind of bad that you haven't been with anyone…like...ever. I mean, you don't even talk about any boys that you like. So, are you into girls or something? It's ok if you are!"

Everyone around them burst out laughing as Hermione's face became instantly red with embarrassment.

"Or do you like a guy that you're embarrassed of?" Ron continued with an evil tone in his voice. "I mean, you don't have a crush on Longbottom, do you? Or worse...is it Crabbe? I mean, I know with your hair it's hard for you to focus on other parts of your body, but if you wanted your crush to like you, maybe you should put on some makeup or something. You know, to look better than...that."

Hermione's eyes quickly shifted to Neville, who stared at her in fear and worry as she quickly shook her head in denial.

"I can't believe that you're so cruel Ron." she whispered as she stood up quickly, grabbed her things and ran out the Great Hall, trying to ignore the laughter that followed her.

She knocked into Harry at the entrance but kept running, ignoring him yelling at her to wait. Harry's eyes turned away from Hermione's retreating back to glare in Ron's direction. He couldn't believe that Ron had put her in the spotlight like that. Hermione had let him down as gently as she could and he had to hurt her in retaliation to heal his bruised ego.

His head snapped to left as he noticed Draco Malfoy leaving the hall in a hurry. Something told him then to follow him. Draco had been acting more sketchy since the beginning of the new term and he was determined to find out why. He had noticed recently that Malfoy had been disappearing into the Room of Requirement, but he didn't want to alert his friends yet since everyone knew that he had a vendetta against Malfoy...or rather Senior Malfoy.

He kept to the shadows as he followed Malfoy closely. It seemed that Malfoy was focused solely on Hermione, because he was tracking her movements precisely. As Hermione rounded the corner to the potion classroom, Malfoy followed suit. Harry pulled his wand out, instinctively and got ready to defend Hermione in case Malfoy tried to attack her. However, the lull of hushed voices and Hermione's sobs caused him to stop and listen closely with a frown on his face.

"I'm going to fucking kill Weasley." Draco growled angrily as he pulled Hermione into his arms.

"No." she shook her head and looked up at him. "No, he only said those things because he's hurt. He's angry right now and he's embarrassed. So, the only way to counteract that was to embarrass me. He didn't mean any of it."

"Don't be ridiculous Hermione!" Draco grabbed her shoulders and made her look up at him. He began shaking as he released his grip and paced back and forth in front of her. The pained and hurt look in her eyes were driving him insane. "Fuck fuck fuck! I'm supposed to protect you from stuff like this, and I can't even do that! I hate this! I fucking hate that we can't be open. I hate working undercover! I just want to hold your hand and fucking kiss you in front of everyone! Voldemort be damned!"

Harry's eyes widened in both shock and confusion as he listened. Draco and Hermione were dating? Draco was working undercover? He was on their side? How was all this even possible?

"Draco...stop…" Hermione reached out and grasped his hand, pulling him towards her. She reached up and cupped his cheeks gently, tugging his head down so she could press her forehead to his as she stared into his eyes with her tear filled ones. "We all have our jobs in this war. Mine is to be there for Harry and help him as much as I can, as best as I can. Yours is to help us in the same way while playing both sides, just like Snape. We can't falter now. We're almost there."

"I know." Draco sighed and gently kissed her lips. "I know. I just wish things were simpler for us. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone before. To see Weasley treat you like that, in front of people who are supposed to be your friends...I've never felt such anger at a person before. It makes me question why we're even doing this!"

"Because at the end of the day, everyone in that Great Hall are innocent and worth fighting for. You told me that." Hermione smiled weakly at him. "If only they knew how much you've already helped them…"

"Don't do that…" Draco pulled away from her. "Don't make me out to be the good guy. I'm not the good guy."

"You're like Batman." Hermione smirked up at him. "Play the condescending asshole to everyone else, but at night, you've saving the world."

"Maybe." Draco grinned at her. "But Batman had cooler gadgets. I'm stuck with a wand."

Both Draco and Hermione began laughing softly as Draco pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly. Harry mind was officially blown. He was trying to wrap his head around everything he had just heard. Was Draco really Hermione's Dark Angel? Harry shook his head to himself and quietly slipped out of the shadows, walking towards the distracted couple slowly. He needed answers, and he wasn't going to leave until he got them.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Hello my loyal readers! Thank you for your comments and favorites! I apologize for the 3 week delay, but here is your newest chapter! I hope you all enjoy! Let me know! :)**_


	15. Chapter 15

**NOTE! - This chapter has scenes of abuse. If this is a trigger for you, please don't read it. I don't want to cause harm to anyone.**

 **This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

The entire school was bustling with excitement over their Christmas plans. Everyone that year had elected to return home for the holidays, missing their families more than usual. However, there were a few students who had one more uncomfortable task before they got ready to head home; Slug Club Christmas Party.

Hermione glanced around her dorm, noting the already packed trunks from her dorm mates, before her eyes landed on Ginny. She smiled at her only female friend as Ginny walked back and forth from her trunk to her dresser, applying more makeup, and fixing her hair repeatedly.

"Gin, you already look gorgeous and Harry's already in love with you. What are you fussing over?" Hermione gave her a playful smile.

"Not all of us have natural beauty like you, Hermione." Ginny chuckled softly. "I don't wake up looking this good. There is a process involved."

Hermione shook her head and unwrapped the towel from around her waist before slipping into her pink peach silk dress. She focused on her wandless magic and made the dress zip itself up while her hair began to style itself. Once that was done, she picked up her mother's pink crystal necklace and attached it loosely around her neck. She didn't bother with any makeup since she had never been one to use those products before.

"Hermione, are you sure you don't want to try asking Ron to escort you to the party?" Ginny tentatively asked, knowing how her brother and his friend weren't on speaking terms at the moment. "I mean...you never told me if you found a date…"

The mention of Ron being her escort immediately pulled her thoughts to that day, a month ago. Her embarrassment in the Great Hall from Ron...Draco's comfort...and then Harry's discovery. She wondered now what it would be like if they hadn't oblivated Harry's mind instantly. Would he have accepted them at this stage? She would never know now. All she knew was that it had almost killed her to have to obliviate her best friend, and she still felt the guilt every day...every time she laid eyes on Harry.

Shaking her head a bit, she returned to the posed question by Ginny.

"I have an escort." Hermione corrected her quickly. "Not a date...just an escort. It's...McLaggen."

"Cormac!?" Ginny shrieked. "My goodness Hermione...first you bag Viktor Krum and now Cormac!? You are going to be glared at a lot tonight."

Hermione frowned at that. She had agreed to go with Cormac because he was already going to the party and Slughorn required everyone to bring a date or a friend. Hermione never even considered how popular Cormac was among the girls in their year. Now, she realised how huge of a mistake she made. She looked up at Ginny, relaying her mistake with her eyes to her friend.

"Like I said, Ron is still free." Ginny reminded her.

"No." Hermione said with a newfound determination in her voice. "Besides, I don't think Lavender would appreciate that too much."

"Ugh, fuck Lavender!" Ginny snapped. "She's not good enough for him and we both know that. You're the right one for him."

"Ginny, stop." Hermione sighed and picked up her wand. "I do not love Ron. I do not want to be with Ron. I'm sorry, but I don't think I will ever be the one Ron wants."

Hermione walked out the room, before Ginny could plead anymore for her brother's case, and made her way to the front of the Gryffindor's Common Room entrance. As she stepped through the portrait, Cormac walked over to her with a corsage in his hand.

"Beautiful flower for a beautiful woman." Cormac greeted as he roughly pulled Hermione towards him. He grabbed her left hand and slid the corsage over her wrist.

"Cormac...you shouldn't have." Hermione said softly as she looked around her at the other students. Every female eye was glaring down at her. She sighed softly and removed the corsage. "This isn't a date, Cormac, I trust you know that."

Cormac shrugged and shoved the corsage into the chest of the nearest female student before grabbing Hermione's hand and dragging her off to the party. That was when Hermione realised that she was going to be in trouble tonight. As they arrived at the party, Slughorn greeted them rather enthusiastically for a moment before moving to another couple. Hermione looked around quickly at the elaborately decorated room and sighed softly. Neither Harry or Ginny were here as yet, but she quickly spotted Neville playing waiter and gasped in relief.

"Neville!" Hermione called out to him while pulling her arms away from Cormac. "I'll be right back."

Cormac barely nodded as his eyes were glued to the delightfully dark Carrow twins. Hermione walked over to Neville quickly and clutched at his hand.

"I need a hiding place." Hermione pleaded.

"Blimey Hermione, you look gorgeous but terrified." Neville noted. "Why not just leave?"

"Because I just got here and I don't want Slughorn to be upset." Hermione groaned.

"Go, behind the curtains there. No one is there." Neville said, pointing to the sheer looking curtains.

Hermione nodded and sneaked off. She watched from her hiding place as Harry and Ginny walked in, smiling up at each other before Slughorn pulled Harry away. Now that Slughorn was fully invested in Harry, Hermione used that opportunity to sneak out of the party. She gave Cormac one more glance, sighing in relief as she noticed that he was stuck in a conversation with Professor Trelawney. Hermione slipped between the entrance doors and breathed in deeply.

The hallways were empty, and slightly dark as Hermione decided to make her way across the castle to Professor Snape's office. The DADA teacher's room had become a safe haven for her lately and she had grown to adore the dark and brooding Professor Snape, who had also begun to genuinely care of her. He had been secretly working with her and Draco in teaching them more and more spells, charms, and skills.

As she slipped out of the east side of the castle, and onto the courtyard, the intense cold air hit her hard. She gasped in surprised, wrapping her arms around herself as she ran across the fresh blanket of snow to the other side of the courtyard. She sighed in relief as the warmth from the castle, once again, consumed her as she stepped into the main hallway.

Her mind began to wonder to Draco, as her heart instinctively began beating faster. He had been worried about her going to the party with Cormac for some reason, but she had promised to come see him before she went to bed, just so he could see that she was alright. She shook her head as she walked faster, secretly smiling at her jealous boyfriend, knowing that he really had nothing to be jealous of. She couldn't wait for the war to end so she and Draco could start to finally live their lives out in the open together.

She shook her head and controlled her emotions as she stepped into the long lessons hallway. As she neared the DADA classroom, someone covered her mouth with their hand and dragged her into an empty classroom. At first she smiled under the person's hand, thinking it was Draco, but once she inhaled and realised that it wasn't Draco's scent, her eyes widened in fear.

"My my, Hermione." the voice of Cormac McLaggen echoed around the empty classroom. "You couldn't wait for me? You didn't even ask me if we could leave. Now that wasn't very nice, was it?"

He dragged her over to the wall at the front of the classroom and pressed her body against it, pinning her with his own body.

"I expected much more from you, Hermione." he whispered into her ear. "I thought this was going to be the start of something amazing. The two top Gryffindor students, dating...falling in love...getting married...working for the ministry. Of course, with me by your side, it'll be much easier for you to get a job in the ministry. You know, with my family's spectacular reputation and all that."

Hermione growled angrily and tried to push him back with her body, but he glared down at her defiant body, pulled her slightly forward before slamming her into the wall hard, causing her to whimper in pain.

"Now now, pet, let's not be so...angry." Cormac's voice slowly began to get darker. "I have a problem, Hermione, which I hope you can help me solve. The answer to this problem will determine whether or not I hurt you. You see, my dear, I'm not only smart, good looking and belong to a very prominent wizarding family, but I can also have any girl in this school. However, I've always wanted you, Hermione, but from how you ran away from me at the party today, I'm thinking you don't want me. So...shall I change your mind? Here are your options, either I force you, you agree willingly, or I imperio you. Either way, I will have as mine. What's your answer Hermione? As you can clearly see, the outcome remains the same; I get YOU."

"Fuck off, Cormac." Hermione seethed out as she tried to push off the wall once again.

Cormac sighed softly, reached up and grabbed a chunk of her hair before pulling her head back, only to slam it once more into the wall, causing her to scream out in pain as blood began to trickle down her face. Darkness threatened to consume her, but she fought through it, knowing that she couldn't let him get the better of her. She was the brightest witch of her age for crying out loud.

She closed her eyes and focused on the wandless magic that Snape had begun to teach her and Draco. Before Cormac could stop it, an unknown force was propelling him across the room, slamming him into the wall. Hermione used that chance to make a run for it. She pulled her wand out and waved it, skillfully around the door, pulling down the wards that Cormac had hurriedly placed, but she wasn't quick enough. She didn't expect Cormac to be on his feet so soon, nor did she expect him to be able to cast an Expelliarmus on her. She cursed under her breath as her wand flew out of her hand and across the room, landing on the floor before rolling away.

"Wandless magic...of course." Cormac chuckled darkly to himself as he waved his hand in the air, causing her to fly back to the original spot, pinning her painfully against the wall. "I see now. You want me to force you."

As he approached her slowly from across the room, the straps of her dress ripped themselves, revealing her bra covered breasts. She tried to think of what to do, but nothing came to mind. She felt tears roll down her eyes as her dress was further ripped down the center of her body. By the time it fell off her body completely, Cormac was once again pressing against her body. The wandless magic he was using to pin her against the wall was making her body contract around itself. She felt as if someone was harshly, and quite literally, squeezing the life out of her. It was then that she remembered about the wards being taken down, which meant that someone could hear her.

"Help!" she began shouting.

"Scream all you want, Hermione." Cormac spat at her. "No one is going to hear you with my wards up. But guess what...I love screamers."

"Help! HELP!" Hermione kept screaming as Cormac started to unbuckle his pants, staring hungrily into her eyes. "Please help!"

"Yes, beg for help, I like that." Cormac growled as his pants fell to his ankles.

He kicked them away before unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it aside. Hermione couldn't help but lower her eyes to his hard and swollen member. The impact of what was about to happen to her finally settled in and she began screaming once more for help. Cormac pressed himself against her and lifted her legs. She tried to kick him away, but he wouldn't have that. He growled angrily as one of her feet made it's way to his stomach, knocking him back a bit.

"I'm growing tired of this resistance, Hermione!" he bellowed. "I was going to go easy on you because I'm pretty sure you are a virgin, but fuck it. You want to fight me so bad, then I'm going to just fucking take you."

Hermione closed her eyes, breathing heavily as tears kept falling down her cheeks. Cormac reached out and ripped her underwear off as he lifted her leg once more, positioning himself at her entrance.

"Please! Someone help!" Hermione screamed out once more. "Anyone...just...help me…"

As Cormac pulled back to slam into her, she felt a cold breeze waft over her mostly naked body. She opened her eyes to see a pair of familiar black pools staring into her with concern and guilt. She looked past her savior to see Cormac laying on the ground, trapped in an Incarcerous Spell.

"Miss Granger, I -" Professor Snape looked at her as if he was ready to lecture her, but from her shaken naked form, the only thing he could do was cover her. He pulled off his robes and placed them around her body as he pulled her away from the walls, now that Cormac could no longer focus his hold on her. "I don't think you want to be seen like this once Dumbledore and other Ministry officials get here to deal with this piece of dung. So, tell me what you want. What will make you feel safe right now?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something as she noticed both Harry and Ginny standing in the doorway. She had no idea why they were there, but suspected it had something to do with Snape. Her eyes narrowed in on Harry's green orbs and a bigger guilt washed over her. After being oblivated to forget about seeing her and Draco together, Hermione had sworn to never do it again to him. Now, she need to keep that promise.

"My wand." she choked out through her tears.

Snape nodded and quickly went to retrieve her thrown wand. He handed it to her before she lifted it, pointing it at Harry.

"Forgive me." she murmured as she turned the wand slowly in her hand, restoring Harry's memories from that night.

Harry's eyes widen in surprise as he began to remember that night a month ago. He looked over at Hermione in shock, shaking his head as he stepped into the room. He wanted to ask so many questions, but he also knew that now was not the time. Ginny looked on quietly, not sure what to do at the moment.

"Hermione...are you alright?" Harry asked softly, glancing at Cormac still struggling with the ropes.

"Harry, I know this is going to anger you right now, and I know you have a lot of questions, but please...can you go get Draco for me?" Hermione looked at him so desperately that the anger melted away.

He nodded his head and turned on his heel to leave. Ginny made a move to go with him, but Snape quickly stopped her.

"Miss Weasley, we will need you to stay here as a witness." Snape stated. "Will you please take Miss Granger into my office. Hermione knows how to get to my chambers from there."

Ginny merely nodded and waited for Hermione to slowly walk over to her.

"I'll deal with things here, but I will be sending Madame Pomfrey to you." Snape explained before they walked off.

He waved his wand in the air, summoning his patronus and instructing it on where to go, and who to speak with. Hermione, with the help of Ginny, walked along the corridor to the DADA classroom. She hadn't realised how physically hurt she was until she tried to walk. Now, she felt as if she had broken every bone in her body.

Ginny headed for the staircase, but Hermione quickly shook her head.

"No Gin." she said weakly. "Snape's quarters isn't there. It's over here."

Hermione led her to the supply closet, opened the door and picked up the only bottle of Veritaserum on the shelf with his other potions. Ginny looked on in surprise with a slight frown. As she placed the bottle back down, a single black door appeared on the wall. Hermione turned the knob and stepped through into Snape's living quarters. Ginny looked around in awe at the surprisingly well organized and simply decorated living room. There was a leather living room couch set, sitting in the center of the room with a black coffee table in the middle. The walls were lined with book shelves, no doubt holding various books that she didn't want to even venture towards. There was a small kitchenette to the left corner of the room and another black door to the right that no doubt led to his bedroom. Ginny watched as Hermione walked over to the love seat and settled down, wincing as she moved.

"Hermione...how did you know about Snape's quarters?" Ginny wondered.

"Let's wait for Harry and Draco to get here, ok?" Hermione suggested as she slowly lowered her entire body to the couch, lying down, groaning a bit.

"What can I do to help you?" Ginny asked. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No." Hermione breathed out. "I need Draco."

Ginny, who was never one to miss anything quickly realised the truth. Hermione and Draco were together. He was the reason why Hermione was so determined to not be with Ron.

"How long, Hermione?" Ginny wondered.

Hermione looked over at Ginny and sighed softly. Her friend knew the truth.

"Friends since first year, dating since I would say...the ending of fourth." Hermione answered honestly.

"Blimey, Hermione, how long were you planning to keep this a secret?" Ginny snapped.

"Till after the war was over, Weaslette." Draco's voice sounded from the doorway.

Draco ignored the glare from Ginny and rushed over to Hermione's sighed. He dropped to his knees and clasped her hand tightly, reaching up with his free hand to brush strands of her hair behind her ear.

"I am so sorry, my love." Draco said gently. "I should have snuck into the party and watched you from afar."

"No...I'm the one that's sorry." Hermione rushed out through her fresh falling tears. "He saw...what belonged to you...I feel so...guilty for that."

"Hush hush." Draco pressed his forehead to hers. "Nothing that happens to you would ever stop me from loving you, or even wanting you."

Harry stepped up next to Ginny and watched the bizarre scene before him. He'd never seen Draco act so gentle with anyone before, and he'd never seen Hermione cling to someone so much before either. From the freshly returned memories he had received, he could tell that there was more to Draco than everyone believed. The way he treated Hermione like a queen was enough of a point to that. Ginny glanced up at him in shock as they both realised that the couple in front of them were just as in love with each other as they were.

"Let me see what he did to you, my love." Draco whispered as he pulled his wand out and pointed it at her. "Legilimens."

The entire incident of what Hermione had gone through entered his mind as he began to clench his fists. He pulled out of her mind once Snape entered the scene and stood up quickly, clutching his wand tightly. He gave Hermione a look that she'd seen many times before and turned on his heel to leave.

"Harry! Stop him! He's going to kill Cormac!" Hermione pleaded.

Harry went into action mode immediately and grabbed Malfoy's arm, swinging him around and pinning him against the nearest wall. Draco sneered angrily at Harry as he tried to push him off.

"Draco, you hurt him, you get sent to Azkaban with him." Hermione groaned out. "That is not part of our plan! Remember our plan!"

Draco's eyes softened slightly as he looked over to Hermione, remembering, once again, his whole reason for living. He took a deep breath to calm his anger as Snape stepped into the room with Dumbledore behind him.

"Ah, I see there is a party in my living room." Snape growled out at everyone around him.

He walked past Harry and Draco, heading straight for Hermione, as he pulled his wand out, waving it over her body, casting a full diagnostics spell. He frowned as he lowered his wand.

"First of all, I don't know how you are not already passed out from a concussion because you have some bad bruising to your head. Your body itself though is very sore, I assume it was from him pinning you against the wall rather hard with his barely controlled wandless magic, am I right?" Snape asked her. "If I'm correct...when he pinned you with his wandless magic, he was unconsciously squeezing every part of your body, including your lungs, which is why you're having problems breathing right now?"

Hermione merely nodded her head in agreement, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

"May the actual medi-witch be the one to assess the patient, Severus?" Madame Pomfrey's voice echoed around them as the tough seasoned witch walked past everyone towards Hermione.

She quickly performed the same spell as Snape, frowning as well as she leaned down to inspect Hermione's head. Everyone watched on as she began to apply an ointment to Hermione's head before looking for various potion vials.

Draco moved to other side of the couch, reaching down to clasp Hermione's hand in his own, bringing the rest of the room to life again.

"Ok, someone explain now!" Harry snapped suddenly. "Draco? Hermione? How? When? What the hell!"

"Mr. Potter, allow me, since I have known as long as those two have known themselves." Dumbledore stepped in. "But first, Miss Granger, let me assure you that Mr. McLaggen is on his way to Azkaban as we speak. In these cases, veritasium is used immediately and once the truth is revealed, action is taken. There will be no need for a trial."

"Thank you." Hermione relaxed slightly.

"Now, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley...what we are all about to explain to you must never leave this room. Is that understood? Do I have your words on that?" Dumbledore continued.

"Yes." Harry said confidently.

"We can't tell Ron?" Ginny asked with a bit of uncertainty.

"No, Ron Weasley cannot know because he will not be able to accept this as well as Mr. Potter or yourself can." Snape piped in.

"If you cannot make this promise, I will have to obliviate you, and ask you to leave." Dumbledore pointed out.

Ginny looked away, confused and torn. She couldn't betray her family like that. The Weasleys were known for not keeping secrets like these from each other. The biggest secret as of recent had been the opening of Fred and George's joke shop. But something like this...something that could affect the war...she couldn't hide that from her family, especially her brother, who was still ⅓ of the golden trio. So, with great reluctance, Ginny shook her head at Dumbledore.

"Obliviate me." Ginny said softly. "I would rather not know what's going than know the truth and be forced to hide it from my brother."

"Ginny!" Harry erupted. "You can't be serious! After everything Ron has been putting Hermione through these days, you're picking him over her? That's not right!"

"I'm choosing family, Harry." Ginny snapped. "I know you won't understand that since you have none -"

Gasps echoed around the room as Ginny quickly covered her mouth with her hand, staring at Harry with a look of utter regret on her face.

"Family is not based on blood, Weasley." Draco's voice erupted with a dark tone to it. "Family is made up of those whom you chose to call family. You call me a blood purest when your family is clearly the one here who only cares about blood. For the past 6 years, Potter's family had included Hermione, Ron, and everyone in this room, including Snape and myself, albeit he hadn't realised it yet. How dare you insinuate that he doesn't have a family or he doesn't understand family loyalty!"

"I'm not!" Ginny shouted. "I...look, I'm sorry Harry. But...family is blood."

With that, Ginny turned on her heel and exited the room, leaving everyone staring after her in disbelief.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I must apologize profusely for this long delay. Sometimes real life takes precedence over everything else, and March has been a very busy month for me. But things are dying down now, so let's continue, shall we? Let me know what you think about this one! Thank you for sticking with me!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

The Gryffindor Common Room was booming with music and loud voices as most of the students danced and conversed. Ron held onto Lavender Brown's waist as she popped her skirt covered ass and grinded into his crotch in time with the music. Harry shook his head at Ron's blatant display before looking away. His eyes landed on Ginny's, who seemed to have been crying again. He sighed and stood up, leaving the common room in search of his new commanderies, ignoring the glares that all the girls in the common room were shooting at him.

After the night Hermione was attacked, Harry had decided to end things with Ginny. He had seen a side of her that he wished to never be involved with; a dark cruelness; and after ending things, it seemed Ginny had become the embodiment of what he had seen that night. With everything going on, the last thing he needed was someone who didn't care about him or his feelings, or his true friends for that matter. He and Hermione had kept their promise to the Order and Mrs. Weasley, and returned to the Burrow for the Christmas holidays. However, it was one of the worst Christmas' they've had in a long time.

Ron and Hermione were still not speaking to each other, Ginny and Harry weren't speaking to each other, and by association, Ron and Ginny were collectively not speaking to either Hermione or Harry. In the end, Harry and Hermione kept to themselves and spent the holidays together, planning their horcrux hunt next year. They had decided to continue with their plans, with or without Ron, and surprisingly the plans were going much smoother.

At the end of the Christmas holidays, it was finally cemented that Harry and Hermione were no longer close to Ron, as Ron walked away from them and found another compartment to sit in with Ginny, Dean, Seamus and Neville, during their train ride back to Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione found a compartment for themselves and settled in for the long ride in contented peace. Draco walked by their compartment and offered them both supportive but secret smiles, which was the beginning of a very unlikely and unexpected friendship between Draco and Harry.

Once they returned to school, Harry had begun to accompany Hermione to Professor Snape's quarters for her secret meetings with Draco. Hermione had revealed everything to him while at the Burrow and Harry had wanted to get to know Draco without any malice in his mind, especially after finding out how much input Draco had had in all their misadventures. It was clear that without Draco's help, they wouldn't have survived half of the things they had all gone through. He felt as if he now owed his life to Draco.

Surprisingly, Draco wasn't one to be called a Hero, but he did accept Harry's offer of friendship and the two had grown closer than Harry had ever been with Ron. It was Harry who was first to accept what Draco's mission from Voldemort entailed. After discussing things many times with Professor Dumbledore, it was settled that Draco would disarm Dumbledore but Snape would perform the killing curse. But that time was yet to come, and until then, Dumbledore kept up with Harry's private lessons.

Hermione was very relieved to have her best friend and boyfriend become such good friends. She had opted out of the birthday party in the common room that evening, knowing that her presence wasn't really wanted. Ever since her defection from Ron, most of the Gryffindor House had opted to be on Ron and Ginny's side of things. Which gave Hermione a real insight to the people she had always considered friends.

"Ron and Lavender are once again making a huge scene in the room." Harry announced as he walked into Severus's living room.

"They both lack intelligence and common sense, so they're a good match." Severus Snape murmured as he glanced up from his oversized tome.

Harry chuckled and nodded to the professor who he had recently come to care for greatly. For the past few weeks, Harry had also gotten to know the unpopular professor. Severus had explained his history with Lily to Harry, and everything he'd done since for the Order. At the end of it all, Harry felt a great deal of respect for the outcasted and misunderstood professor.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Severus." Hermione chastised.

"Doesn't matter, it's the truth." Draco gave Hermione a smirk as he sipped on his ginger tea.

"How was the party anyway? Was he at least having a good birthday?" Hermione turned her eyes to Harry.

"Does it really matter?" Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "He's a fucking wanker at this point."

"You can't have already thrown away almost 6 years of friendship, Harry." she frowned.

"Why not? You did...right?" he gave her a handsome smirk.

"Touche." Draco chuckled as he glanced over at his blushing girlfriend.

"I had my reasons." Hermione snapped. "You know I did."

"And since Mr. Potter considers you his first and foremost best friend, Hermione, it's only natural for him to side with you in this situation. Besides, Miss Weasley's cold words didn't help the situation any. At least she was obliviated before she had chance to speak to Mr. Weasley." Severus pointed out. "In all honesty, as we move forward, if we are to indeed save the Wizarding world, Mr. .Weasley would only slow us down. Perhaps once this war is over and everyone around us knows the truth about everything...perhaps then Mr. Weasley might come around and accept things."

"No, he won't." Hermione mused quietly. "He hates us now too much to even try to make amends."

Hermione closed her book, stood up and returned the book to Severus' book shelf. She turned to give Draco a look that indicated she was ready to head for bed. Draco nodded silently and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. Hermione inhaled his minty scent and leaned her head up to peck him on the lips. Draco smiled against the kiss, lifting his hands up to entangle his fingers in her hair as he deepened the kiss, causing Hermione to moan against his lips.

"Perhaps the two of you will feel better taking...whatever that is...in a different room." Snape suggested.

"No." Hermione said firmly as she reluctantly pulled away. "I need to sleep. Our DADA professor claims to be giving us a pop quiz in the morning."

"I hear it's a tough one too." Harry smirked.

"Indeed." Severus closed his tome and stood up. "Therefore, perhaps it would prudent for all of you to exit my quarters and get a good night's sleep for the torture that awaits you in the morning."

Draco and Harry began laughing as they headed to the door while Hermione suddenly had a terrified look on her face as she stared at the smirking professor.

"Maybe I should stay up a few more hours...get some more studying in." Hermione murmured to herself.

"You'll do fine babe, even if you didn't study at all." Draco kissed her temple as the three of them walked out of Severus' quarters.

As the exited the DADA classroom first, Hermione and Harry gave Draco a wave before heading towards the Gryffindor Common Room, leaving Draco with 5 minutes to wait before he exited the classroom himself.

"I wish there was another way for us to get into our dorms." Hermione muttered. "I really don't want to see the entire house stare at us while we walk to our rooms."

"Sometimes I ask myself what's the point of fighting Voldemort for these ungrateful people." Harry admitted before raising a hand to stop Hermione from lecturing him once more. "But I know I know, it's for the greater good. Once this war is over though...I'm going somewhere warm and sandy for a vacation."

"I think I'll join you with that trip too." Hermione chuckled softly.

"Do you mean the beach, Harry Potter?" the singsong voice of Luna Lovegood gravitated towards them. "I think that would be a divine idea. The beach would be a nice place to recuperate after...everything."

"Hi Luna." Hermione smiled at the only person who seemed to still want to talk to them all.

"Hello, Hermione." Luna gave her a warm smile. "You two haven't seen my long galaxy colored socks have you? I asked them not to use those for their pranks, but you know how playful my house mates are sometimes."

Harry frowned at that, thinking that Luna was just too nice of a person to see how mean her house mates really were. He shared a knowing look with Hermione before resting his eyes upon the gorgeous but quirky blonde.

"Come on, Luna." Hermione said gently. "I'll help you look for it."

Luna gave her a grateful smile and nodded.

"Goodbye, Harry." she waved lightly to him as she walked away with Hermione.

Harry stared after the two of them, giving Luna's behind a longer look than he had intended before continuing on to the common room.

"Dilligrout." Harry recited to the Fat Lady guarding the room's entrance.

The Fat Lady inclined her head and opened the door for him to pass through. The loud music he was expecting to hear never reached his ears. As he stepped into the room, he noticed that is was almost empty, with the exception of a few students doing their homework quietly.

"McGonagall came and sent everyone to bed." Ginny spoke up from one of the room's corner tables.

Harry turned to her and watched as she stood up quickly and gathered her books to her chest. She walked towards the girls' dorm staircase, avoiding his eyes.

"Ginny…" Harry began, causing her to stop moving, but not look back at him. "Are you...ok?"

"You broke up with me, but gave me no reason. Do you think I'll ever be ok?" Ginny snapped.

Harry sighed and walked over to her, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but she quickly flinched away from him.

"Ginny, I'm not the right one for you." Harry said gently.

"You should have let me make that decision for myself." She snapped. "Instead of acting like a fucking asshole. Maybe that's what you've been the entire time. The Boy who lived is actually the boy who's the biggest wanker. And you wonder why no one will take yours or that bushy haired Hermione's side."

"Let me correct myself." Harry's tone turned dark as he instantly regretted even speaking to this new version of Ginny. "You are not good enough for me. I deserve someone who isn't a total bitch."

Harry walked off as she turned to stare at him in shock. He walked up the stairs to his own dorm, clenching his fists tightly, as he looked around at his sleeping room mates. Neville, Seamus and Dean were snoring quietly, but Ron's bed was completely empty.

"She loves me…" Ron's voice sounded completely off as Harry turned around to find him sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed, eating from a box of chocolate that Harry quickly realised was meant for him.

Harry frowned and picked up the card, groaning as he saw Romilda Vane's face blowing kisses at him. He picked up one of the half eaten chocolates and sniffed it lightly.

"Fuck...love potion." Harry sighed and looked down at Ron. "Ron...you've been poisoned with a love potion, snap out of it mate."

"No!" Ron snapped. "She loves me!...I have to go to her…"

Harry knew that he could easily make an antidote potion with Snape's book, but this could be the perfect opportunity to get back on Slughorn's good side. He needed to complete the mission Dumbledore had given him. They needed to know, if possibly, what exactly Slughorn told Voldemort about horcruxes.

"Alright Ron, let's go." Harry sighed as he grabbed Ron's arm to help him up.

"Go? Where? To Romilda?" Ron's eyes glossed over excitedly.

"Sure Ron...I'll take you to Romilda." Harry rolled his eyes and ushered him out the door.

 _ **The next morning…**_

"Harry! Are you alright?" Hermione yelled as she ran into the Hospital Wing.

"I'm fine, Hermione." Harry waved her over to the last bed in the room.

"What happened?" she glanced between Ron laying in the bed unconscious, to Harry's worried face.

"He ate some chocolates that was meant for me...it had a love potion in them, so I took him to Slughorn's office." Harry rushed out. "After Sulghorn gave him the antidote, he offered us some...well...alcohol. It was laced with poison. I forgot that...you know...I forgot what the bottle Draco showed us looked like. Anyway, Ron drank from his cup first and started seizing out. I shoved a bezoar into his mouth and he's fine now, but I took him to Hospital Wing just in case. Madame Pomfrey gave him something to sedate him because he was freaking out a bit."

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked again as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." Harry nodded. "I just...I want it all to end."

"Her...mione…" Ron breathed out in his sleep.

Hermione turned sharply to Ron's bed and stared at him with wide eyes. She backed away slowly before turning around, almost colliding with Ginny.

"He loves you." Ginny deadpanned. "Why can't you see that."

"Ginny...don't…" Harry warned.

"Why not?" Ginny snapped. "I don't understand anything at this point! The three of you used to be best friends! Yeah, ok, Ron messed up a bit by saying what he said to Hermione in front of everyone, but come on! You guys have forgiven each other over the years for more shit than that! He loves you, why can't you give him a chance?!"

"Because I'm not interested in Ron." Hermione said honestly. "You can't make someone love you. I don't love Ron."

"You love someone else…" Ginny concluded. "I can see it on your face. Sometimes I see you come in late at night with a relaxed and happy look on your face. You've been seeing someone else...but it's someone that Ron won't approve of, otherwise you would have told him long ago. Who is? Is it a fucking Slytherin? Are you a Slytherin-whore?"

Hermione took a deep breath and stared directly into Ginny's eyes.

"It's none of your business Ginny." Hermione said flatly. "I do not love Ron. That is the only thing that matters here."

"Since you didn't deny it...I must be right then." Ginny spat out. "You are such a fucking whore. For years, you've acted like you loved Ron. And now, it's been a lie all along!"

"I did love him!" Hermione yelled. "As a friend...just like I love Harry."

"No, it's not the same." Ginny shook her head and walked to her brother's side. "You're just a worthless whore Hermione."

"Ginny! Enough!" Harry bellowed. "Apologize."

"No." Ginny glared directly at Harry. "Get the fuck out of here. I'll take care of my brother since I'm the only one here who actually gives a shit about him. Take that muggle-born slut and get out of here!"

Harry never wanted to hit a girl so much in his life, but the tears flowing down Hermione's face caused him to do the right thing. He gently wrapped an arm around Hermione and led her towards the door. He stopped briefly to glance back at Ginny.

"Considering that you were hooking up with Dean, Seamus and Lee Jordan during the entirety of last year, I think the slut here is you, Ginny." Harry threw at her.

"Our friendship ends with that." Ron's voice weakly sounded suddenly. "Don't speak to us again. Don't come near my family again. Don't help me again, even if I am dying. I'd rather die then get help from the boy who lived."

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I hope there aren't many Ginny-lovers out there. But I honestly never really liked Ginny for Harry. Anyway, I hope this was a good chapter. We're about to end the 6th year and begin Harry and Hermione's journey. Let me know your thoughts!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

The overcast sky outside was a mere imitation of Hermione's mood as she secured the remaining items in her handbag. She had been preparing for this day since the end of last term. Dumbledore's death made her initial plan more concrete and she knew that there was no escaping what she had to do.

She had, selfishly, made her parents spend more time with her that summer than usual. They had decided to explore the Caribbean a bit, and she had fallen in love with the white sand and blue waters, vowing to return once the war was over. The trip was solely for her own benefit. Her parents, she was sure, suspected what her real motives were, but they kept silent about it all. They had returned a week ago and had fallen into a simple daily routine. No one spoke about the war. No questions were asked. Nothing.

She glanced down at her watch and noted that it was already 6:00 pm. She had five minutes before she needed to apparate to Harry's aunt and uncle's house, so that they could apparate together to their first destination. She stood up and looked around her childhood room for what she always knew would be the last time, picked up her handbag and quietly made her way down the stairs to the living room.

She stood in the shadows, staring at her parents. Her mother was pouring cups of tea for the three of them, while her father was trying to find the sports channel so he could watch the current cricket game. Tears already began to form in her eyes as she slowly pulled out her wand.

"Hermione, dear!" her mother called, causing her to still her movements. "Come down for tea, darling!"

She forced herself to choke back the whimper that threatened to escape her lips as she lifted her wand and pointed it at her parents.

As if sensing her presence, he father stopped flipping through the channels and turned to look over at her. His eyes went from meeting hers, to lowering at the wand in her hand. Mr. Granger knew this was coming. The kind Mrs. Malfoy had sent them a letter, after Draco had disclosed Hermione's plan to him.

Mrs. Granger, sensing a change in the air, turned as well to stare at her loving daughter. Instant tears began to fall from her eyes as she realised what was about to happen. Mr. Granger patted his wife's hand before dropping the remote and standing to face his daughter completely. He outstretched his hand to his wife and pulled her to his side, gripping her hand tightly as she wiped her eyes quickly with her other hand.

"Go on, darling." Mr. Granger encouraged. "We know what you have to do."

"How…?" Hermione choked out as her own tears flowed freely down her face.

"Draco." Mrs. Granger answered as she glanced up at her husband. "He told his mother, and she sent us a letter weeks ago. We knew all along."

"The trip…" Hermione breathed out.

"We knew how much you would need a family trip like that." Mr. Granger admitted. "Hermione, your mother and I love you unconditionally. We know how brave, intelligent, and strong you are. You have so much to look forward to in the future, after this war is over. We know that while we can't be at your side, you still have Draco, Harry and Mrs. Malfoy. Don't ever think that after what happens today, we will forget you, because you will always be in our hearts."

"Promise us, dear, that once everything is over, you'll come find us." Mrs. Granger added. "You'll...reverse...the spell...so we can continue being a family once more?"

Hermione nodded her head quickly, even though she knew the impossibilities of what she had just agreed to.

"Good, then this is just a break sweetheart." Mr. Granger squeezed his wife's hand. "Go on. Cast the spell."

"I love you." Hermione cried out as she pointed the wand firmly at them before saying clearly, "Obliviate…."

As she turned her hand with the wand, performing the spell to perfection, she saw the white stream of light erupt from her wand. Once all memories of her were erased, she lowered her wand and walked over to the front door before her parents could regain their composure. She glanced down at one of the picture frames in the foyer, that previously held a picture of the three of them on a tour of Scotland's Kismul Castle. She was no longer in the frame.

Strangled sobs erupted from her throat as she rushed out the front door and made her way down Granger Street to the apparition point. She couldn't stop wiping her eyes from the waterfall of tears that were pouring out. So focused was she on wiping her eyes and walking away as fast as she could that she didn't see the person walking hurriedly over to her. But, the moment the familiar pair of strong arms encircled her body, she allowed her weakness to show. She clutched onto the black robes in front of her and cried into the strong chest that she was being held against.

"Shhh, it's ok." Draco's calming voice washed over her. "You did the right thing."

"I...I...feel...hor-horrible." Hermione choked out.

"I know love." Draco rubbed her back gently. "I know. But it was either this, or allow the death eaters to hunt them down. You're saving their life."

Hermione pulled away and looked up at him with her bloodshot eyes.

"I told them that I could reverse it." she whispered.

Draco stared down at her with his own pair of sad grey eyes. He knew fully well that attempts to undo memory charms had ended up with severe consequences and majority of the time, the attempts had been unsuccessful to begin with.

"Then we will reverse it." he promised. "After the war, that'll be the first thing we do. I promise you that. We will find them and we will reverse the spell."

Hermione sniffed and wiped her eyes again, nodding her head as she felt partially relieved to have him on her side. She knew the reversal would be hard and would take a lot of magic, so it would be good to have someone with her. But the dark thought in her mind was that all these future plans depended solely on if they even survived the war.

She glanced down at her watch again and sighed. She was now 10 minutes late.

"Come on, I'll apparate with you." Draco clutched her hand tightly and waited for her since she was the only one who knew where Harry lived.

Hermione nodded and closed her eyes, needing to concentrate more than usual this time, as she felt the familiar pull and tightness in her stomach. In less than five seconds they had landed on the corner of Privet Drive. She quickly walked down the street until she came to #4. The house was dark and she glanced up nervously at Draco, who had already withdrawn his wand, before stepping up to the front door, knocking on it exactly 3 times.

After waiting a few moments, the door finally swung open to reveal a rather disheveled Harry, clutching his wand tightly. He released a sigh of relief at the sight of them and moved aside to let them in. Before Hermione could look around the empty house properly, her eyes were pulled towards two still bodies on the floor. She couldn't turn away.

"Shit, I didn't realise that they were going to attack you so soon...I thought you both had at least an hour…" Draco murmured.

"Are they dead?" Hermione wondered.

"No." Harry shook his head. "I stunned them."

Draco wasted no time, pointing his wand at the pair on the ground and whispering the Obliviate charm. He couldn't risk getting found out when things were so heated at the moment. Hermione gave him a firm nod of approval before turning to face Harry.

"We should go." she said quietly.

Harry merely nodded and grabbed his trunk. He looked around the place that he had unwillingly called home for 17 years and sighed softly. Everything he owned was in his trunk, but the house held no memories he wanted to keep. He followed Hermione and Draco outside, rolling his trunk behind him.

"I should head back now." Draco grumbled. "He's having a meeting tonight with everyone. I have to be there. You two...remember...if you're ever in a bind...apparate to Severus' house. The wards are designed to allow you both in, and I will be alerted instantly."

"Right." Harry nodded firmly and glanced at Hermione. "Um...I'll just apparate to the first stop...I'll meet you there Hermione."

Hermione gave Harry a grateful smile before he disappeared with a pop. She turned to Draco, fighting everything inside of her to not burst into tears once more.

"I have something for you." Draco said softly as he pulled out a small jewelry box from his pocket. "My mom helped me put the finishing touches on it yesterday, but the spells are all originally from Severus."

He opened the box to reveal a long silver chain with a star shaped locket attached to the center. A picture of a snake wrapped around a small lion was etched in the center of the star. Hermione couldn't stop the tears flowing after that.

"Draco…" she whispered.

"No, listen quickly." he rushed out as he realised that the two death eaters will be released from their stunning spells soon. "I have the same locket. If either one of us opens it, we can see what the other is doing. However, yours is also set to alert me of any serious danger you might find yourself in. I know you can't owl me...so this is the best I can do. I...I need...I needed to make sure - "

"Shh." Hermione leaned up and placed a kiss against his lips softly. "I know. Thank you."

"I love you, Hermione." he murmured against her lips. "You better take care of yourself, because if you don't...I will have to kill every single person who hurt you and I know you don't want me ending up in Azkaban."

"I don't." Hermione chuckled lightly. "I love you too, Draco. Please, try to reach me if you're in trouble. You know I will drop everything for you in a heartbeat."

"I know love." Draco leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead lightly. "Go, now, before they wake up again."

Hermione clutched the necklace tightly in her hand before pressing her lips once more to his, apparating away with a light pop, leaving Draco staring down the deserted street. After realising that he was finally alone, he faltered to the ground, allowing his pent up tears to finally fall. He embraced the agony that he had been expecting. The love of his life was about to go off, fighting for her own life and he was stuck on the wrong side. All he could do now was hope to see her again.

As Hermione appeared on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place, she couldn't make her feet move forward anymore. She crumbled to the floor in a heap of tears as the realization dawned on her that she might never see Draco again.

That's how Kreacher found her when his master sent him to look for her. He placed his hand on Hermione's wrist and transported her into the house. Sirius and Harry both stood up from their places on the couch and rushed over to Hermione's side.

"She needs a night to herself." Sirius suggested. He knew the look on Hermione's face. He'd seen it many times during the first war. "Trust me...I've seen this before. She feels as if she's lost someone she loves."

"To be honest, in this case, she probably feels as if she's lost the 3 most important people in her life tonight." Harry quietly admitted.

Sirius looked up sharply at Harry, waiting for an explanation. Harry had already informed him of the truth behind Draco and Severus' actions, but as far as he knew, it was only Draco she was saying goodbye to tonight.

"I wasn't sure if Hermione wanted anyone besides Draco and myself to know…" Harry inhaled sharply before looking down at his broken best friend. "But...she obliviated her parents today."

Sirius looked down at the intelligent young witch laying curled up on his living room floor, whimpering softly to herself, oblivious to everything that was around her. The amount of respect he suddenly felt for her soared. She did what most pure blooded wizards would never even consider doing. He reached down and gently brushed a few strands of her hair out of her face. She had saved his life after his escape from Azkaban, so the least he could do was help her now.

"Come, let's get her upstairs to her room." Sirius suggested.

Harry nodded numbly as he watched his Godfather lift Hermione into his arms as if she weighed nothing more than a feather and carried her to the staircase. Once they laid Hermione in her bed and closed her door, the tearful screams began. She was in mourning.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **If anyone is interested, there's a song for this chapter. It's a Korean song called "Again Today" by Kim Bo Hyung. Anyway, let me know what you think about this chapter! From here on out, a lot of things will seem different.**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Almost 4 months had passed since Harry and Hermione set out on their mission to collect the other five horcruxes. They had known the locket that Harry and Dumbledore had found was a fake one the second they read the letter, but after talking with Kreacher and discovering that someone has stolen the real locket, it was quickly determined that the real locket had been sold to none other than their old professor, Dolores Umbridge.

Using Hermione's pre-made batch of polyjuice potion, they were able to sneak into the ministry, free some imprisoned muggle-born witches, and snatch the locket back. Unfortunately, upon apparating away, their hideout was discovered, but with Hermione's quick thinking, they were able to apparate somewhere else that was untraceable. Luckily, Sirius had been keeping tabs on them and apparated away from his house before the new ministry aurors arrived. For months, Harry and Hermione roamed the English countryside, listening to their portable radio in case one of their friend's names were on the list of those murdered or kidnapped.

Their main problem seemed to be not knowing what or where the horcruxes were, not to mention, how exactly to destroy them. No spell seemed to be working in their favor whenever they tried to cause some sort of damage to the locket, but Hermione was sure that she was close to figuring out what to do. She had a theory in mind...since Harry had destroyed the first horcrux with a basilisk fang, and Dumbledore had left the sword of Gryffindor to Harry in his will, that just happened to be impregnated with basilisk venom, it was safe to assume that either the sword or another basilisk fang could destroy the horcruxes. However, since the sword was M.I.A., and the dead basilisk was at Hogwarts still, their options were very limited.

Besides trying to destroy the current horcrux in their possession, Harry had been distracted with trying to figure out what the other horcruxes could have been. The only thing Harry seemed to be sure of was some sort of connection that Dumbledore had had to Bathilda Bagshot, who happened to live in Godric's Hollow. Somehow, Harry believed that he would either find a horcrux or the sword at Godric's Hollow. Hermione, on the other hand, strongly believed that going to Godric's Hollow was a mistake. Since it was the place of Dumbledore's family home, and the place of Harry's parents death, she was sure that Voldemort would be waiting for them there.

But, there was no detering Harry from going. She had tried multiple times, but he still apparated them there. Hermione shivered slightly from the instant drop in temperature. They had been staying in their tent for days, and she had charmed the tent to be very warm, so feeling the actual temperature outside startled her a bit.

"Harry, I really don't think we should be here." Hermione whispered as she looked around the empty town.

Snow stuck to the ground as they walked down the street slowly. She had her hand clasped around her wand in case she needed it, as they spotted a cemetery ahead of them.

"Hermione...you're don't think…" Harry nervously wondered.

"Maybe…" Hermione gave him a reassuring smile, knowing exactly what her was asking her as they stepped into the open cemetery.

Harry began to slowly roam through each tombstone, looking for his own parents. After a few minutes of silence, he spotted his parents burial place and fell to his knees in front of the tombstone, tears silently falling from his eyes. Even though he never knew his parents, he knew enough about them to know that they would have been amazing parents. His life would have been a much happier one with them. He didn't regret how he grew up, because it molded him into the brave and strong person he was now, but he did regret not knowing his parents the way every other adult around him had known them.

"Harry...I think you need to see this." Hermione called over to him as she stood, staring across the street into the eyes of old Bathilda Bagshot.

She looked very different from when they had last seen her at Dumbledore's funeral. Hermione suddenly became consumed with a bad feeling. She reached up slightly, wanting to open the locket so that Draco could see where she was, but so far, she had survived 5 months on the run without his help. She barely even knew if he was doing alright with his dad and Voldemort living in his house, but she had too keep up her hope that everything was ok so far.

"Is that really her?" Harry wondered as he came up beside Hermione.

"I think we should leave now." Hermione said softly. "This doesn't feel right at all."

"Wait!" Harry hissed as he began to cross the street, following Bathlida as she turned and walked away.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped as she reluctantly followed him.

Bathilda led them to a dirty old looking house, which solidified the fear in Hermione of this being a trap. As they entered the house, Harry indicated that Hermione should remain downstairs while he went upstairs with Bathilda.

"I think she wants to show me something." Harry insisted before leaving the worried Hermione at the bottom of the stairs.

As Hermione looked around, while listening to the movements upstairs, she quickly came to realise that this house had some sort of illusion charm on it. A loud noise upstairs caused her to bolt into action. She pulled out her wand and ran up the stairs to find the body of Bathilda lying in a heap on the floor and Harry pressing his body against the wall, staring horrified at Voldemort's snake, Nagini, that was slithering towards him slowly.

"He's coming! Hermione, he's coming." Harry yelled to her.

Without any other thought, she pointed her wand at the snake and yelled "Confringo!". An orange light blasted from her wand, hitting everything in it's path. She touched Harry with her free hand and apparated them away before Voldemort showed up.

The blast from her wand had knocked out Harry. She sighed softly, staring down at her best friend's sleeping form.

"I freaking told you it was a trap!" she snapped.

She looked around and realized that once again, she had apparated them to a fond memory of her and her parents.

"The Forest of Dean." she whispered to herself.

Her eyes roamed around the vast greenery around her as she began to cast her protection spells around their area. While getting the tent set up, her eyes finally landed on the pieces of wood in Harry's hand. It was his wand...or what was left of his wand.

"Shit! He's going to kill me…" she grumbled.

Hermione sighed and pointed her wand at Harry to levitate and glide him into the tent. She placed him gently on a cot and began to attend to his wounds. Luckily there weren't that many that she could see on the surface, but some were very deep. As she left him in the warmth of the tent, she grabbed their water jugs and made her way to the small lake that she knew was nearby.

The lake held many memories for her, and seeing it again brought those memories to the forefront. She remembered ice skating with her father for the first time when she was 8 years old, and those first lessons had made her fall in love with the sport itself. She sat down at the edge of the lake, ignoring her free falling tears, and efficiently filled up the jugs. She levitated them back to the tent and finished cleaning and healing the remaining wounds on Harry's arms, face and neck. She finally poured some dreamless sleep potion down his throat.

"You'll probably be out for a few days. Your body needs time to heal completely." she whispered, knowing that she wasn't going to get a reply. "I'll keep doing more research. We have to find answers somewhere."

She stood up, picked up the children's book that Dumbledore left her and proceeded to leave the tent since the weather wasn't too bad that day. As she stepped out of the tent, her eyes locked on the head of white blond hair that was ruffling around from the wind. She wondered for a brief second why he hadn't approached her or the tent as yet, but then remembered the protection spell she had used, which prevented anyone from seeing anything inside her bubble.

She stood there for a few moments, studying his face and figure, tears pricking at her eyes. He looked the same but much different. He had lost more weight, his eyes had sunken even more, and there were scars across his cheek, lips and neck that she suspected was from either torture or dueling. She needed to hold him. She needed to be held by him. She just needed...him!

"Draco!" she called out as she lowered the protection spells quickly.

Draco turned around quickly, staring into the tired and changed eyes of the love of his life. He inhaled sharply as he stared at her beauty. No matter how much she went through, she still remained the most beautiful woman in the world to him. He stalked over to her quickly and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her into the air and slamming his scarred lips against hers in a desperate need that had been haunting him since the day he had said goodbye to her, all those months ago.

Hermione responded in kind, gripping and tugging at his hair as she shoved her tongue into his mouth. Draco lowered himself to the cold ground, pulling her flat against his chest, practically crushing her to him. Hermione easily slipped her feet around his waist, clinging to him for dear life.

"How?" she whispered against his lips.

"I felt your fear." he murmured. "I almost followed the dark lord to Godric's Hollow, but I knew you wouldn't be there. I followed your heart to here...I needed...I needed…"

"I know." she pressed a finger to his lips. "You don't need to say it. I needed it too."

"Hermione, I can't do this anymore." he quickly confessed. "I can't keep hiding my thoughts from him. It's becoming too difficult. I can't go back there."

"Your mom." she deadpanned, causing Draco to sigh in defeat. "You know we can't leave her there. He will invade her mind and kill her once he finds everything out. You are the only one who can protect your mother."

"I know." Draco groaned as he pressed his head against hers. "Hermione...I know that this isn't the appropriate time, and I know we were waiting until after the war to reveal what we are to everyone. But...I don't care about that anymore."

"What do you mean?" Hermione pulled away slightly and stared into his icy grey eyes with complete concern.

"I don't care with anyone thinks anymore." he explained. "Being away from you...not knowing if you're really ok...I just...I don't care about anyone's opinions anymore. When this war is over, will you marry me? Will you tie yourself to me and be by my side for the rest of my life?"

"Draco...are you really asking me to marry you?" she gasped as she stood up and began pacing back and forth. "No, this is a spur of the moment thing. You're only feeling this way because of the circumstances happening right now. You aren't serious, this is all just - "

Hermione stopped suddenly as she noticed Draco, who was now in a kneeling position, holding out an opened ring box with the most gorgeous engagement ring she had ever seen. The band was of the purest white gold and it held the perfect sized emerald stone in the center, surrounded by diamonds in a lotus style. It was elegant, simple, and pure, just like her.

"I've been carrying this around in my pocket since the end of our sixth year. I have always planned on marrying you, Hermione. You are my family. No one else matters. It's just us. I want you...always you." Draco said softly. "So please, bind yourself to me and only me."

 _ **A/N**_

Sorry I've been MIA, but alot has been going on IRL. I'm back now and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

They had been running from the snatchers for a good while now, but there was no chance of them being able to apparate together since they were already so separated. As Hermione skidded to a stop in front of a snatcher that was coming straight for her, she turned around, hoping to run in the opposite direction, but they were officially surrounded. She took a deep breath and did the only thing she could think of at the time. She raised her wand and pointed it at Harry, who was trying to run towards her as fast as he could, and whispered the incantation for the stinging jinx.

Harry fell back in pain, clutching his face in agony as Hermione screamed out the second she was snatched from behind. The werewolf, they had all come to know as Greyback, took her out of the snatchers hand and inspected her face properly, trying to figure out if she was really who he thought she was. But he couldn't be certain.

"Let's take these two to the Manor." Greyback ordered as he sniffed Hermione's hair. "I've been smelling this one for a while."

He ran his fingers up along Hermione's sides, brushing the sides of her breasts as he growled softly into her ear.

"If you're not important to them, then I will be taking a bite out of that perfect smooth neck of yours soon." he whispered to her.

Hermione glared into his face, pulling her head back slightly before spitting into his eye. Greyback roared and shook her aggressively before pulling her back, flush against his chest.

"I like them defiant. Makes it so much better since I get to discipline you." he chuckled into her ear. "Let's go!"

They two other snatchers, holding Harry down, apparated with Greyback and Hermione to the front of the Malfoy Manor. Hermione gasped in surprise as she instantly recognized the manor from Draco's description.

Her only thought then was to somehow hide the ring on her finger. She couldn't get enough room with her hands to take it off, so she used her fingers to spin it around, making it seem as if it was just a white gold band on her finger. Greyback took no notice as he was too focused on the insane woman walking up to the front gate, glaring at their group with disdain written all over her face.

Greyback said nothing, but nodded to the other snatchers to show her the boy's face. The woman's eyes gleamed with excitement as she waved her hands, opening the gates, leading them down the long entrance path of the estate to the front door of the Malfoy Manor. Hermione prayed to whatever Gods were above that Draco was out of the house on a mission or something of the sort.

They were led into the middle of the Malfoy's drawing room. The first person Hermione laid eyes upon was Narcissa Malfoy, who instantly started shaking with both rage and fear. The woman, who had quickly become her pseudo-mother, looked frail and weak since the last time she had seen her.

"Call Draco, Cissy!" Bellatrix ordered as she kept her eyes on Hermione. "What happened to him?"

"Don't know." Greyback shrugged. "Caught him like this."

Bellatrix stepped up closer to Harry and studied him properly. She then turned her eyes to Hermione with a smirk on her face. There was no mistaking who Hermione was, since her face had been plastered across the Daily Prophet for months.

"Looks like he got stuck with a stinging jinx." Bellatrix cackled. "No matter! It'll go away soon! Isn't that right mudblood?"

"You wanted me, Aunt Bella?" Draco's dead toned voice echoed as he stepped into the drawing room.

The second his eyes met Hermione's his face turned more pale than normal. Hermione stared at him with pleading eyes to let whatever happens happen. She didn't want him to blow his cover. Draco's eyes glanced down to the ring on her finger as his heart constricted even more in his chest. He suddenly felt as if he could no longer breathe. .She was wearing it. It had been a few days, but she was wearing it. His eyes flashed back to the day he finally proposed to her.

 ** _***Flashback***_**

 _Draco's heart was beating so fast that he thought it was going to fly out of his chest as he waited for an answer from the woman he loved. Hermione had begun pacing again and he was starting to get nervous._

" _Hermione? It's not a spur of the moment thing." Draco reassured her again._

" _You say that now." Hermione sighed softly as she stopped. "But what if after the war is over, and everything goes back to normal, you change your mind?"_

" _After everything we've been through...all we're still going through...you honestly think I'll change my mind?" Draco slowly began to stand up. "What part of I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, do you NOT understand?!"_

" _Alright, then let's make a deal." Hermione suggested._

" _A deal?" Draco's anger was slowly coming to the surface._

" _I'll accept the ring, but the next time we see each other, if I have the ring on, it means yes, I'll marry you. If the ring is not on, then it means I'm not ready to say yes to you. It doesn't mean I won't say yes in the future. It just means I need more time to decide." Hermione tried to compromise._

 _Draco glared at her hard. He wanted to yell at her, to ask her why she was doing this. But then, remembering that she was already under so much stress made him slowly nod his head in agreement._

" _Fine Hermione." Draco slowly walked away. He glanced back at her once more, opening and closing his mouth, wanting to say something more. "Just...be safe and careful...and...I love you."_

 _With a pop, he apparated away from her hiding spot. Hermione's heart instantly began to ache as he disapppeared. It took her a total of 3 seconds to pull the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger._

" _Hermione...you idiot…" she muttered to herself before heading back into the tent to check on Harry._

 ** _*** End Of Flashback ***_**

"Draco, sweetie, come closer. Look at this...boy. Tell me, is it Harry Potter?" Bellatrix grabbed Draco by his collar and shoved him in front of Harry who was now coming out of the foggy daze Hermione had also put him under.

"I...I can't tell." Draco muttered.

"Are you sure son?" Lucius's voice boomed loudly as he entered the room with Narcissa behind him. "If he is the real Harry Potter and we take him to the Dark Lord, all...everything will be better! So...pick your answer very carefully."

"I can't be sure with his face looking like this." Draco muttered, trying to buy some time.

Bellatrix had a wild look in her eyes as she roughly pulled Hermione out of Greyback's grip. It was then that she noticed the shiny sword that one of the other snatchers was holding. She grabbed it quickly and glared at them.

"Where did you get this!?" she screeched.

"They were running with it." One of them said.

"How did you get this?!" Bellatrix turned to Hermione and shouted into her face. "This sword is supposed to be locked up in my vault!"

Hermione defiantly kept her mouth shut, but there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes. Bellatrix's mouth turned up into a sinister smirk.

"You!" she pointed towards Peter Pettigrew, "Take this young man down to the dungeons with the others."

Pettigrew grabbed Harry's collar and dragged him out of the room and down a staircase to the dungeons. He threw him inside and locked the metal door, smirking as he returned to the drawing room for further instruction. Harry gripped the metal cylinders on the door and tried to shake it open angrily. But it didn't budge.

"That doesn't work." a voice he had been dreaming out since he had begun this journey sounded from some dark part of the dungeon.

Harry spun around and stared into the pale silvery eyes of Luna Lovegood. He walked over to her swiftly and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her into his chest. He didn't know how long, her father had never specified when they had kidnapped Luna, but he was relieved to see that she was alright. He still felt no anger or blame towards her father for calling the death eaters earlier. He knew that if he was in that situation, he would have done the same thing.

"Your father...he misses you...he's a wreck." Harry stated.

"I know." Luna, for the first time since he'd known her, had a dismal look on her face. "They have good shepards pie here though. Draco also sneaks us down some good desserts when he can."

"Us?" Harry frowned and looked past her at the 3 other people. "Mr. Ollivander? Dean!?"

"Heya Harry." Dean gave him a weak smile. "Fancy meeting you here."

Mr. Ollivander simply nodded to Harry, but Harry's eyes were diverted to the third person. A goblin.

"You showed me to my vault when I was 11 years old." Harry quickly remembered.

"Yes...Griphook." the goblin introduces.

Harry stepped back from Luna and pulled out a piece of glass that Sirius had given him before they left on their mission. Every time he looked into the glass, he saw the eyes of someone else reflected. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he had to try something. Once the person peered back at him, Harry begged him for help. Any help.

Hermione's screams from above caused him to pull his eyes away from the glass and stare up at the ceiling. Luna's serene face suddenly changed to one of pure rage.

"They're torturing Hermione!" she snapped. "We have to do something. I...I know what happens when Bellatrix doesn't get the answers she wants. Hermione can't last long. "

The dungeon doors opened quickly, revealing one rather pissed off and worried Draco Malfoy. Harry could see the pain in Draco's eyes. He was using every fiber in his body to keep up his pretense for Hermione's sake, but Harry knew that seeing Hermione get tortured was probably killing Draco.

"She...she wants the goblin." Draco muttered as he motioned for the goblin to step forward. "You have to tell her that the sword is a fake. No matter what! Insist that it's a fake!"

The goblin frowned, but then Harry reached out and grabbed his arm tightly, staring at him with pleading eyes. The goblin nodded reluctantly and followed Draco out of the dungeon.

The second Draco slammed the door shut, a loud pop was heard as Dobby, Harry's loyal friend and house elf, apparated in the middle of them.

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby smiled widely up at Harry.

"Dobby, how did you get here?!" Harry wondered.

"Harry Potter needed help, and Dobby will always be there to help Harry Potter, sir." Dobby insisted.

Harry looked around at the others as he tried to figure out the best course of action. His eyes rested for a second longer on Luna. He wanted to tell her how he felt and kiss those perfect pink lips, but now wasn't the time.

"Dobby, take Dean, Luna and Mr. Ollivander to safety first. Then come back for me and Hermione, ok?" Harry asked.

"Of course!" Dobby smiled as reached out a hand, letting the three others touch his hand firmly.

Another loud pop was heard as Dobby disapparated. Pettigrew quickly came down to the dungeons to investigate the noise, but Harry was waiting for him. As soon as Pettigrew opened the door and entered the dungeons, Harry pounced on him, choking him hard. Pettigrew shook Harry off and pinned him against the wall, trying to choke him in turn.

"Life debt!" Harry breathed out. "You owe me...a life...debt!"

Pettigrew stopped for a second, but that was all the fake hand, that Lord Voldemort had given him, needed. The hand attacked him immediately, choking him to death for hesitating, since that was an instant betrayal to the dark lord. . As he slumped to the floor, Harry stared down at his corpse, feeling no remorse as he picked up Pettigrew's wand.

He made his way back up to the drawing room to be greeted with Hermione lying on the ground, crying in agony as Bellatrix hovered over her, spelling the word "Mudblood" into her arm like a hot brand. He looked around and spotted Draco, glaring at his aunt with hatred. Harry knew then that Draco was on the verge of losing it.

He ran out into the middle of the room and disarmed Bellatrix. Her wand flew across the room as she gasped in surprise, backing away quickly as Harry pointed his new wand at her. Lucius Malfoy pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. Before Harry could react, a loud pop echoed around the room as Dobby appeared and Lucius' wand flew out of his hand, across the room and into Dobby's waiting hand.

"You dare take a wizard's wand!?" Bellatrix squealed. "Draco, kill it! Kill the stupid creature."

Draco had had enough. He looked over to his mother, pleading with his eyes, but she simply gave him a brave smile and left the room.

"Cissy?! Where are you going!? We have him! Look!" Bellatrix smirked at Harry. "Harry Potter, all new and shiny."

Draco walked over to Hermione, who was still lying on the floor, in too much pain to move. He scooped her up into his arms and walked over to Dobby.

"What the hell are you doing, Draco!?" Lucius bellowed. "Leave the mudblood alone!"

"What I should have done a long time ago." Draco snapped, not noticing that his father was now pointing his wand at his son's own back.

Harry noticed, however, and quickly stunned Lucius, leaving only Bellatrix to be dealt with. He hadn't realised that Bellatrix had already retrieved her wand while he was stunning Lucius and now she pointed it towards Harry. They threw spell after spell at each other before Draco, leaving Hermione next to Dobby, walked over to Harry and helped with cursing Bellatrix. A final leg lock spell caused Bellatrix to fall over, giving Draco and Harry enough time to run back to Dobby, who quickly apparated them to Shell Cottage. No one had even noticed that Bellatrix had thrown a knife, aiming directly for Dobby.

Draco held Hermione in his arms, as he performed the Tergeo spell on her wound. He glanced around at Luna and Dean, who were both staring at Harry and Dobby. It was then that he realised, the house elf was quickly dying in Harry's arms.

"No...no...Dobby, hang on, we'll get you some help." Harry rushed out as his own body was shaking with tremors. He held Dobby close against his chest, rocking him back and forth. He glanced back at Hermione, but the second Hermione recognized where the knife was placed in Dobby's chest, she knew there was nothing in her extendable bag that would help him. She slowly and reluctantly shook her head at Harry.

"It's nice...to say goodbye to my...friends...before I die." Dobby whispered softly to Harry. "My friend...Harry...Potter."

The cold ocean breeze flew around Harry as Dobby released his last breathe, his eyes still open, staring proudly up at Harry.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I will try to update once a week. So here is the next chapter. Hope this was a good one. I want to say that Dobby's death was one of the worst ones for me to have read, so I didn't want it to be too drawn out. Let me know your thoughts. :)**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Chaos.

That was the only word to describe what was going on at Hogwarts for the past 4 hours. Spells were flying everywhere, bodies were flying left and right, the entire Order of the Phoenix was at the school, trying to fight off Death Eaters, snatchers and anyone who had chosen Voldemort's side. Even the Hogwarts teachers were fighting, and fighting dirty as well. They were using spells and charms that they would never have taught their own students.

Harry stared proudly at Professor McGonagall from his spot on the entrance hall staircase, as she sent another Death Eater flying through the air and out of the school grounds. His heart soared for a few seconds before Hermione and Draco came running up to him. He smiled briefly at Hermione's hair, that was just as bushy now as it had been during their first year. She was frazzled and running around with adrenaline pumping through her veins. They all were. Even Draco, who always looked so put-together, had his hair completely disheveled, and his face covered in dust and blood from his own one on one battles.

"Harry!" Hermione called out to him as she ran over to him, holding out a basilisk fang. "Take it! We have a plan...well it's actually Draco's plan...but if it works...it'll help us immensely."

"Ok, what is it?" Harry rushed her as he took the fang and hid it in his pocket. "Helena told me where the next horcrux is, so after I destroy that one, it's just...two more!"

"Perfect." Hermione grinned. "Draco thinks that if we get the Slytherins to fight with us, we'll have more manpower right now. We're in desperate need of it."

"You...you think they'll agree?" Harry turned his eyes to Draco.

"I don't know, but there's no harm in trying, right?" Draco shrugged.

"Alright." Harry nodded. "I need to head to the room of requirement. When you're done, meet me there."

Hermione and Draco gave him brave looks before turning and running towards the dungeons. Harry headed up the stairs to the Room of Requirement, but stopped briefly once more to stare at Luna. His Luna...fighting off two snatchers at once. She was his. Or at least she will be if they all made it out of this alive.

Draco clutched Hermione's hand as they ran as fast as they could, dodging stray spells as they went, ignoring the surprised and shocked faces of those around them who actually took notice of them. If it wasn't clear as yet whose side Draco was on, it was made clear then as he shot a body flipping spell to a snatcher who was about to curse Hermione.

The path to the dungeons got quieter as they ran. Before they knew it, they were standing outside the hallway that held the dungeon Mr. Filch had taken the entire Slytherin house to. Draco checked that there were no Death Eaters around before stepping out of the shadows and into the dimly lit hallway of the dungeons.

"Draco!" Pansy Parkinson exclaimed as she spotted him. "Thank God...wait..what the fuck is the mudblood doing here?"

Anger sparked in Draco at the word, but he shoveled down because more important things were happening at the moment. Hermione, on the other hand, had had enough.

"Same reason a whore is here?" Hermione snapped back. "Because of the war."

A few Slytherins sniggered at the comment as Pansy gave Hermione an evil smirk. Draco groaned and stepped up closer to the dungeon door.

"Listen, Hermione is here to fight for what's right. Same as me." Draco deadpanned. "I've lived under my parents rule and thumb for too long. I'm going to do what I think is right, and that's going out there and fighting alongside my other classmates. I'm not going to succumb to my father's evil demands any longer. I spent the past 7 years of my life befriending all those people out there; eating with them, going to Hogsmeade with them, and even playing quidditch with them. It's time for you decide what you should do yourselves. I know for a fact that at least half of you don't agree with your parents siding with Voldemort. Are you really so easily submissive that you can't decide for yourself?"

There was an odd silence in the cold dungeons as everyone listened and thought over Draco's words. Draco hoped that at least a few of them would side with him. He was making a huge sacrifice by doing this.

"My parents never wanted a war. They were neutral." Blaise Zabini said softly. "I...I'm against it...I'll help, Draco. But...tell me...is...is Padma still alive?"

Everyone turned to stare at Blaise in surprise. Even Draco's own eyebrows raised at the question. He had no idea that Blaise even spoke to Padma.

"Yes." Hermione answered for him. "She's with her sister in the Great Hall, fighting the snatchers with Professor Trelawny."

"Please, let me go to her. I'm a better dueler than Trelawny any day." Blaise begged.

"We all are." Theodore Nott spoke up. "Let's be honest, the entire history of our house revolves around that lunatic out there. Because of him, our house went from being known for our cunningness, loyalty and resourcefulness, to being known as just evil people. I, for one, will like to rectify that. We are Slytherins. We're made to lead! They need us out there. We are the best duelers after all. Besides, no other house knows the dark curses and spells we Slytherins know."

Most of the Slytherins nodded their heads in agreement.

"Let's fight then." Adrian Pucey, the only Slytherin member who's known for his few words, said loudly. "Fuck this asshole who's causing all this drama in the first place."

"Yeah!" A loud chorus of agreement erupted around them.

Hermione and Draco shared a look of relief as Draco began unlocking the dungeon gate to let them out. Most of them poured out and ran up the stairs to the Great Hall. Only a handful of them were left behind and they were all glaring intently at Draco and Hermione.

"Goyle?" Draco looked surprised.

"You're such a prat...a fucking pussy Draco." Goyle sniggered as he raised his wand, pointing it at Draco. "You're an embarrassment to your own family. You're supposed to be the most loyal to the Dark Lord!"

"No, Goyle." Draco smirked. "I was never loyal. He's just so stupid that he believed me for so long, just like you. Stupid is as stupid does."

Before Goyle could even say his curse in anger to Draco, Hermione sent him flying back into the dungeons, locking the door herself, with her own invented spell, and touched Draco's arm, apparating him to the entrance of the Room of Requirement.

'How...how did you apparate?" Draco wondered in surprise as he looked around the hall for any stray snatchers or Death Eater.

"You think with how the entire castle is in ruins right now from this ongoing fight that apparating is still not allowed?" Hermione smirked. "All our school's defenses are down right now."

As she moved towards the door of the room of requirement, the door flew open, revealing a disheveled looking Harry. Hermione touched his shoulders gently, as Draco stared into the room that was now inflamed.

"The...the horcrux...it...it blew up this time." Harry stuttered. "The snake...that's the next one!"

"But he keeps that stupid thing close to his person at all times." Draco groaned. "How the fuck are we supposed to destroy it."

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out. Right now, he's going down to the shrieking shack...he's waiting for Severus." Harry revealed.

"No…" Draco snapped as a revelation dawned on him. Voldemort know the truth about Snape. He turned and ran down the hallway to the entrance hall staircase. He had to save the only man who was a true father to him.

"Draco wait!" Hermione screamed as she and Harry rushed to catch up with him.

Draco was now running on his own emotions. Something he had taught Hermione to never do because it would always lead to a downfall. Hermione, seeing that Draco was about to head out into the middle of the most vicious part of the battle, grabbed his shirt and pulled him behind a wall for protection.

"Together!" Hermione snapped. "We're in this together."

"He's my godfather!" Draco protested. "He's more important to me than my own father."

"He's just an important to us as he is to you, Draco." Harry said softly as Hermione's entire body stiffened.

Harry and Draco glanced up at Hermione to see her eyes fixated on something behind them. They both turned around and stared at a powerful Tonks, her hair red as fire, crackling as she threw curse after curse towards her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry stared proudly at Tonks, one of the few aurors he had been inspired by. He had never told anyone this, but Tonks was his reason for wanting to become an Auror in the first place.

She had struggled her entire life, fighting to prove everyone wrong. She had always been deemed as an outcast for who she was related to and what she was born as; a metamorphmagus. But she had rose above all others, excelled in her school years at Hogwarts, and was now one of the best, youngest, aurors at the ministry. She was one of Harry's idols.

"Come on! We have to get to Snape!" Draco pulled both Harry and Hermione out of their musings and dragged them into the courtyard, throwing spells at the various death eaters around them as they ran.

Neither one of them had stayed long enough to see Bellatrix Lestrange hit Tonks with a killing curse, directly in her chest. No one, besides a very angered Molly Weasley, noticed the light leave Tonks' eyes as she fell gracefully to the floor while Bellatrix cackled in glee.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I hope you all love this chapter! Another one soon! Let me know your thoughts :)**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Restraining Draco was a two person job. It took every ounce of strength in both Hermione and Harry to pin Draco against the wall outside the Shrieking Shack, while Voldemort questioned Severus. Hermione wanted to go save him just as much as Draco did, but she knew that would mean Harry might die before they destroyed all the horcruxes.

"Nagini." Voldemort said softly, causing Hermione's eyes to widen in fear.

Her mind instantly went back to when Mr. Weasley was attacked by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries. She knew that he narrowly escaped with his life, and the only way to stop the bleeding from Nagini's bites was a special antidote that the St. Mungo's healers had created to counteract Nagini's poison. Very few people even knew about the antidote.

Harry winced slightly as he heard the numerous bites that Nagini made to Severus before apparating away with Voldemort. The painful sounds that Severus was making now would forever be etched in all of their minds. Hermione didn't bother to hold Draco back any longer. She pulled her hands away and ran into the shack herself, before either Draco or Harry. She skidded to a stop, covering her mouth in shock as tears instantly fell from her eyes.

Severus was laying on the floor, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily as blood poured from various bite wounds. The most concerning wound to Hermione was the one at his jugular. She knew how hard it was to heal any wounds on that part of the body. It unnerved her to see the once strong and brave professor, a man who had become a fast friend of hers, now lying on the floor, dying before her very eyes.

"Hermione…" Harry murmured softly as he glanced back at a frozen Draco. "Can you do anything for him?"

"Yes." Hermione said firmly as she sprang into action, ignoring the weak protests from Severus.

She remembered a melancholy conversation between herself and her potions master, that took place the year before. He had confided in her that he didn't believe he would survive the war. But, if by chance he was dying, he wanted her to let him die. He refused to accept any sort of healing. He was ready to die and he had begged her to make sure that Draco did nothing to stop his fate. She knew what she had to do now.

She pulled out her wand and walked over to Severus' side, kneeling down while dropping her small bag at her feet. As she positioned her wand over Severus' body, a cold hand reached up to suddenly grip her wrist tightly. She looked down into his eyes with a determined look of her own.

"No." she snapped down to him. "I will keep my promise, Severus. But no where in our discussions did I promise that _**I**_ would not save you."

Severus managed to roll his eyes before wincing in pain as his breathing began to hurt. Hermione stared at his state once more before digging into her bag for 3 red potion vials and 3 clear potion vials. She took a deep breath, positioned her wand over Severus' body once more and began.

"Vulnera Sanentur...vulnera sanentur...vulnera sanentur…" she began chanting quietly.

Harry and Draco looked on in surprise as the blood slowly began to seep from the floor around them towards Severus' body, returning to its rightful place. Once she had the blood under control, she started pouring the blood replenishing potion down his throat. She picked up one of the clear liquid vials and closed her eyes, briefly praying that it would work as she poured it down his throat.

She kept her chanting going as she noticed that Severus had fallen unconscious but his breathing had returned to normal. The wound on the jugular was still open and pouring out blood. She needed to focus her incantation on that one particular spot.

"I know what I have to do." Harry said softly as he stared at both Draco and Hermione.

Hermione glanced back at him, noticing that he was clutching the golden snitch that Dumbledore had left him. She had already suspected what his plans were, and now, this was just confirmation for her.

"Go...but come back." she said sternly.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, pulling himself out of his frozen state.

"I'll see you again in a few hours." Harry patted Draco's shoulder and walked out of the shack, leaving Draco looking very confused.

"Where is he going Hermione?" Draco demanded once he got his bearing back.

"Nevermind that now. Come, help me with Severus. I have to get him to the Hospital Wing." Hermione stood up, satisfied that the bleeding had stopped for the moment, but she had a lot more work to do. "We'll need to levitate him...very carefully...to the Hospital Wing."

Draco's mind, although he was concerned about Harry, knew that he needed to focus on Severus at the moment. He pulled out his wand and walked over to Hermione. He silently casted the leviosa charm over Severus body and kept his concentration as they slowly walked towards the Hospital Wing. Hermione was doing her best to concentrate on the spell she was still chanting while walking alongside Draco and Severus.

The walk was a long one, but it was the staircase up to the main room that was the trickiest. Hermione gasped in shock as they came to the main doors of the patients room. The number of students, and a few aurors, who were being treated by the sole nurse, Madame Pomfrey, was unnerving. There were so many that Madame Pomfrey had applied an extension charm on the room.

"Hermione!? Draco!?" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed as she took notice of her two favorite students. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the levitating professor and the chanting words that Hermione was constantly repeating. She quickly dropped the gauzes in her hand and ran over to the unusual trio. "What happened to him!?"

"Voldemort's fucking snake bit him...multiple times." Draco answered.

"Fuck!" Madame Pomfrey shouted, causing the entire room to fall silent in shock. No one would ever expect to hear such a word fall from the prim and proper nurse's lips. "Follow me."

She led them out of the main room and down the corridor to her private rooms. She pointed to the lone bed, against the wall at the back of the light blue painted room.

"Put him on the bed. Gently now...careful!" she shrieked. "I swear, I'll kill that man myself if Severus doesn't survive this. What's been done so far?"

"I've been performing the Vulnera Sanentur incantation, repeatedly, so his bleeding has stopped." Hermione explained. "I've given him the blood replenishing potion and...this…"

Draco gently placed Severus on the bed as Hermione pulled out another vial of the clear liquid potion. She handed it over to Madame Pomfrey.

"They used this on Mr. Weasley...when he was bitten by Nagini." Hermione stated. "They haven't given the potion a name as yet, nor do many even know of its existence."

"Oh...I've heard of this...I have some in my personal stores...Dumbledore, God rest his soul, told me to always have some on hand for emergencies." Madame Pomfrey sighed. "That man always knew more than anyone else."

She walked over to the left side of the bed and performed a diagnostic spell on Severus. She smiled in relief as she turned to Hermione.

"You've done well, my child." she walked over to her personal medicine cabinet. "Two more of these clear liquid potions and two more blood replenishing potions, a lot of rest, a thick bandage over the wound to the jugular, and...he should be fine. He's in for a long night though."

Hermione watched the mediwitch moved seamlessly around the room like the expert she was. It fascinated Hermione to the point that she decided if she were to survive the war, she would look into becoming a mediwitch herself.

"Where is Harry?" Madame Pomfrey inquired as she took over the chanting for Hermione.

"Yes, where exactly did Harry go, Hermione?" Draco, settled in his mind that Severus was going to be alright, now turned his attention to the next problem.

"Draco, I will tell you, but on the condition that you do not go after him." Hermione offered.

It took Draco a few minutes of thought before he nodded his head in agreement. Hermione glanced at Madame Pomfrey before taking Draco's hand and leading him out of the room. They walked past the main patient room and up the staircase to the huge clock. Hermione looked out at the grounds of the school, where the battle was still raging on.

Draco quietly waited for her to begin, looking at the fighting as well when the most unusual thing occurred. It all stopped. The death eaters and snatchers apparated away all at once. He could see the confused with relieved looks on some of the students faces.

"So, he's really doing it then." Hermione's sad voice broke through his train of thought.

"Who is doing what?" Draco was getting angrier by the second now, feeling as if he was being left out of the loop.

"Harry and I...while we were on the run last year, figured out that he was one of Voldemort's horcruxes." Hermione began. "It explained everything...why Voldemort and he always had a mental connection...why he instantly felt pain from Voldemort being near his person...and why Dumbledore gave him...the golden snitch in his will."

"Fuck…" Draco ran his fingers through his hair as he began to pace. "What does the golden snitch have to do with this?"

"Well...hidden in the snitch is the philosopher's stone...the stone that brings people back to life." Hermione said softly.

"He plans to let Voldemort kill him…" Draco quickly put two and two together. "No, he can't! Let's go stop him."

"No!" Hermione yelled. "He has to do this. If he does...then it'll be one more horcrux and we can finally get rid of Voldemort for good! Also, I think I know what the last horcrux is…"

"Hermione, if Harry is killed by Voldemort, and then comes back to life, what's to say that Voldemort won't kill him again!?" Draco snapped. "And then what? Harry is the one to kill Voldemort."

"We discussed that as well…" Hermione sighed softly and turned away. "We had always thought that you would be the one to finally kill Voldemort if such a thing did occur."

The silence stretched between them as Draco took it all in. They wanted him to kill Voldemort. He couldn't deny that a part of him, a very strong part of him, wanted to fulfill this request. But, he knew that deep down, Harry was the match for Voldemort. Not him.

"Harry is literally sacrificing himself…" Draco stopped pacing and stared at her dumbfounded. "And your accepting of that?"

"That was the plan all along, wasn't it?" Hermione looked up at Draco as a tear fell from her eyes.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Here's another chapter guys! Let me know your thoughts.**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The air was filled with dust, smoke, slightly burning embers and blood...so much blood. The fight was over. The war was over. Harry had come back from the dead, thanks to the ressurection stone that Dumbledore had placed in the snitch, and finally defeated Voldemort once and for all. Now, it was time to recover what was lost, and regroup as a winning side.

Hermione and Draco stepped into the Great Hall, looking around at the destruction, the number of fallen witches and wizards, and the number of survivors. Hermione held back her tears as she spotted bodies of students she had become fond of. She needed to be strong now. Those who survived needed her now more than ever.

She glanced over at the Weasley clan, relieved that they had all made it out with just a few cuts and bruises. Even though she and Ron had parted ways, they were still part of the Order, so she was grateful for their survival. She spotted Luna next, walking over to Harry, who was currently grateful that no one was harassing him for any details of what he had gone through for the past year. Harry, seeing Luna walking up to him, ran the remaining distance and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her soundly, bringing a wide smile to Hermione's face. Hermione, however, did not fail to notice the harsh glare that Ginny Weasley shot at Harry and Luna.

"Finally." Draco said softly.

"Yes...finally." Hermione sighed and looked up at Draco. The word meaning more to them than anyone would ever understand.

Hermione turned back to the scene in the hall as her eyes zeroed in on the bodies of Tonks and Lupin. She shook her head in disbelief as she ran over to their bodies, dropping to her knees as her pent up tears finally began to fall.

She cried for her life having turned out the way it had. She cried for the loss of her childhood. She cried for the loss of the adolescence. She cried for those who had lost their lives to a war that shouldn't have happened in the first place. She cried for those who probably still believed some of the garbage that Voldemort believed in. She cried for the young Teddy Lupin who would now grow up never experiencing the love from his parents first hand. And then she cried for joy. It was all over.

Draco had dropped to his knees, his arms encasing Hermione in a warm cocoon as she cried her eyes out. Their actions had caused every eye in the Great Hall to turn towards them. To see the Slytherin Prince holding the Gryffindor Princess was uncanny. To see the son of a Death Eater embrace a muggle-born was confusing to say the least.

Harry moved over then, staring down at the man who had also been a father to him. He had made his peace with Lupin before Voldemort tried to kill him the first time, but seeing his body now brought about a new set of emotions.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione cried as she reached out to grip Harry's arm. "What about Teddy?"

"He's my godson...so I will take care of him." Harry insisted reassuringly.

" _We_ will take care of him." Luna said softly as she placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"That boy will be loved by his aunt Hermione and uncle Draco as well." Draco said loud enough to cause a few murmurs around the hall. "He will know who his parents were and what they fought for, but he will never be without love."

"I want to go get him now." Hermione said suddenly as she stood up. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"Agreed." Sirius said as he stepped away from his spot next to Shacklebolt. "Let's all go home."

Harry nodded his head as he rose from his crouched position. He pulled Luna towards him as Sirius, Hermione and Draco began to leave the hall.

"So no one is going to question why the fuck that death eater is still here and not arrested!?" Ron's voice broke through the silence that had descended upon the great hall.

All eyes began to flit from Ron to Draco as no one really knew what to say to that. Most people were well aware that Draco had returned to Hogwarts with Harry and Hermione, fighting on the side of light. However, no one knew why, how, or even when he had switched allegiances.

"Draco has always been on our side." Harry finally said after a long sigh. "I was hoping to have this discussion another time since now is the time to grieve and try to figure out how we will all be moving on in the future after today. However, since you seem incapable of waiting, Ron Weasley, I shall say my piece now."

He turned to Shacklebolt, taking a deep breathe.

"You may retrieve my memories or give me veritaserum after this, but I ask for those procedures to be conducted at another time. I will like to get to my Godson as soon as possible." Harry stated, knowing that most likely, Shacklebolt was the next in line for the Minister of Magic position.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Harry." Shacklebolt stated. "You may have to repeat what you say here at trial if others wish to have Mr. Malfoy arrested though."

"Draco Malfoy has been secretly working for our side...for Dumbledore's side...since the beginning. He portrayed himself as a evil git for the safety of himself, his mother, and his reputation among the other Slytherins whose parents were working for Voldemort." Harry explained. "Draco has saved me...Hermione...and almost everyone in this Hall many times over, in secret. The only reason he didn't come out sooner was because his role was vital for information we received about the Voldemort's side. Not to mention, his insane father who could easily have killed his mother if Draco showed any sign of weakness. I may have defeated Voldemort, but it never would have happened without the significant help of Draco."

The expressions on everyone's face, with the exception of the Weasleys, changed instantly as they now saw Draco in a new light. Ron, in particular, was shaking with anger, his mind unable to accept or believe what Harry was saying.

"You're lying." Ron seethed out.

"Test me." Harry said evenly. "My mind will show the numerous secret meetings among Hermione, Draco, Snape, and myself as we figured out each step of this war. **TEST ME**!"

Numerous people slowly began stepping away from the Weasley family then as Ron's grip on his wand tightened. Draco, seeing where Ron's hand was, watched as Ron slowly lifted his wand, pointing it at Harry once his back was finally turned. A coward move.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco shouted as his own wand was quickly pointed at Ron.

Ron's wand flew out of his hand and into the air, sailing towards Draco, but it was Hermione who caught it. Hermione's eyes were dark with anger as she glared at Ron.

"How dare you!" she snapped. "Are you so blinded by jealousy and prejudice that you will attack the person who saved us all from the Dark Lord!?"

"You!" Ron's anger suddenly turned to the young witch. "You...you're with him!? Is he the reason why you refused to be with me?!"

"No, Ronald. You are the reason I refused to be with you." Hermione said as her expression softened slightly. "I never loved you in the first place. I cherished the friendship we had because we've been through so much together since first year, but as we grew up, you changed into someone who couldn't look past their prejudices and I became someone who learnt to look past mistakes and faults. You know nothing of my history with Draco, because what you and everyone in this hall saw for the past 7 years was the fake Draco Malfoy. Only, Harry, Snape, myself and a few select others knew the truth. The whole truth. But despite the truth, you still won't open your heart or your eyes to see what everyone else sees now. A man who's strong, brave, courageous and capable of loving someone beyond anything that I thought was even possible. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I hope...sincerely hope, to never have to speak with you on this subject again. I do not love you. I never loved you. Accept it and please just move on. You can gain nothing from pestering me or Draco."

With that, Hermione dropped Ron's wand on the floor, entwined her fingers with Draco's and followed Harry and Luna out of the hall with Sirius. The pride that radiated off of Draco was a silent one as he didn't want to show those around him how he truly felt after Hermione's little speech. However, one look at Hermione and he knew that she was feeling the same sense of pride. She was right though. They didn't know what their future held now that everything was over.

As they reached a safe enough point from the castle to apparate, Draco suddenly stopped and pulled away from Hermione's grip. As much as he wanted to follow his friends to retrieve his nephew, he knew that he had one stop to make. A stop that he dreaded making.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked as she looked up at him.

"I have to...go elsewhere." Draco said softly.

Realization dawned on Hermione as she turned to look at Harry, who instantly knew what was wrong.

"I'm going with him." Hermione stated.

"No!" both Draco and Harry shouted at the same time.

"No, he might be there and he will try to kill you." Draco insisted.

"Am I mistaken, or have we all just fought in the same battle?" Hermione frowned before turning to cup Draco's cheek. "I am yours now. No longer just privately, but publicly. I am going with you, because after everything that's happened, she's now my mother as well. I will defend myself against Lucius if I have to, but considering that it will probably be two against one in his case, I think we will fair victoriously. Don't you agree? Besides, if you think I'm going to be without you for one minute after everything we've been through for the past 7 years, you are sorely mistaken. I no longer wish to be apart from you any longer, Draco. We will fight battles together for the rest of our lives. Beginning with Lucius."

"You can't really argue with her after that, mate." Harry smirked. "Send me a patronus, Hermione, if anything happens."

"We'll probably return to Grimmauld place once we've retrieved Narcissa." Hermione explained.

Harry nodded and pulled Luna into his side before apparating away with Sirius. Draco sighed and looked down at Hermione with affection in his eyes.

"I might kill him if he does anything to you." Draco said softly.

"Do I expect anything less?" Hermione smirked playfully.

It was a look that he hadn't seen for a long time. A pure, playfully look of innocence. He was relieved then that after everything they'd been through, his Hermione was still with him. He leaned his head down, pressing his forehead against hers before capturing her lips with his, in a earth shattering kiss. Hermione instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him...to this moment...before it disappeared. The longing they both felt for eachother was clear to anyone that had seen their shared kiss.

"I can't wait for this all to be over." Draco murmured against her lips. "I've waited for you...for us...and as much as I don't mind waiting as long as we have to...it doesn't change the deep wanting I have for you."

"I assure you, my love...the feeling is mutual." Hermione breathed against his lips. "Shall we get this over with then?"

"Yes." Draco nodded as he stepped back slightly but kept his hold on her arm.

He closed his eyes and visualized the home that had been his lifelong hell before quickly apparating to it. They arrived unharmed with a loud pop that was drowned by the helpless screams of Narcissa coming from the drawing room. Draco tried to run towards the sounds, but Hermione held him back, placing a finger to her lips. She knew that they needed a plan before barging in there.

"You allowed him to become the traitor he is!" Lucius voice rose. "Once I'm done with you, I'm going for him next. You think you saved him? Just you wait, Cissy. You've only led him to his demise! Crucio!"

Draco, unable to hear anymore pulled himself out of Hermione's grip and ran into the drawing room, pointing his wand at his father. Hermione, on the other hand, conjured her patronus and sent it to Shacklebolt with a brief message before stepping into the drawing room, behind Draco.

"So...you've brought the mudblood into my home?" Lucius snapped, spotting Hermione instantly. "I'm going to make you watch as I rip each limb from her pretty little body. Tell me son, have you at least fucked her yet, or is she still...intact for me?"

Draco only saw red as he began firing spell after spell at his father, who was easily dodging them.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I hope you all liked this chapter. Let me know your thoughts! I apologize for the delay, but I've been very sick for the past few weeks. I'm only now recovering and errands for Christmas is overwhelming me a bit.**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Fear gripped Kingsley as he replayed Hermione's message in his mind once more. Even though she, Harry and Draco had fought against Death Eaters, a mere few hours ago, he still couldn't help but be worried about them taking on Lucius Malfoy alone. Lucius was known to be one of the best duelers in the world. His sadistic demeanor only made his attacks worse for his victims.

"Dawlish, Williamson, you're coming with me." Kingsley ordered as Hermione's patronus finally disappeared. "Malfoy Manor, now!"

The three top aurors ran out of the hall towards the safest apparition point, gave each a brief nod before disapparating. The appeared with a loud pop, just outside the Manor gates, and was instantly greeted by the sound of Hermione's agonizing screams.

Draco was struggling to get back up from the floor after his father had hit him with the crucio curse. He needed to do something smart now because his father was casting the same spell on Hermione while staring directly at Draco. A glance at his unconscious mother made his heart drop more. He hoped that she was at least alive. Draco gripped his wand tightly as his energy and mind slowly began to clear and return to normalcy.

"Are you ready to duel me like a man, boy!?" Lucius shouted.

"I've been a man since I was 14 years old, you just never noticed." Draco retorted. "Just like how you never noticed that your own son...your own flesh and blood...had been spying on you and working for the side of light since he first started Hogwarts. Have you asked yourself yet how you could be so foolish for believing that I was your protege? When all along, I've been best friends with Harry Potter and in love with a muggle!"

"Defodio!" Lucius casted, turning his wand to Draco and leaving Hermione collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain.

Draco quickly casted a protego around himself before throwing an offensive spell of his own at his father. They battled each other for what seemed like forever as Hermione slowly regained her senses once more. She gripped her wand tightly and stood up, prepared to attack Lucius once more with her own spells, but Draco glanced at her, shaking his head quickly.

"My mom, Hermione! Get her out of here!" Draco ordered while blocking another curse from his father.

Hermione wanted to help, but she knew that Narcissa's survival was vital to Draco. He did everything...all his spying...all his enduring of Voldemort and his father...all of it...for his entire life...had been for his mother's survival. Without any further thought, Hermione rushed over to Narcissa and casted a quick diagnostic spell. She was relieved to find that other than a few bruises, Narcissa was alive and well. Just unconscious. She gripped the woman's hand and quickly apparated them both to Grimmauld Place.

"Hermione!" Sirius greeted before rushing over to Narcissa himself. "What happened?"

"She's fine. I've got to get back to Draco before his father kills him." Hermione said quickly.

"No! Hermione you can't be - " Sirius snapped but Hermione apparated away before he could finish his thought.

The scene had changed drastically once she returned to the manor. Draco was now tied up and pinned against the wall from an incarcerous curse while Lucius was nowhere to be seen. Hermione rushed over to Draco, trying to pull the gag out of his mouth. Once he was finally free to speak, he began shaking his head at her.

"Leave! Now! He's waiting for you!" Draco rushed out.

"By all means, son, don't make her leave just yet." Lucius smirked as he re-entered the room, pointing his wand directly at Hermione. "Miss Granger, I have a question for you. A simple one really. Will you follow my instructions or shall I torture my son until you give in?"

Hermione's eyes widen as she quickly understood the implications of what he was saying. If she didn't obey him, he would hurt Draco. The problem was...he could ask her to do anything. Not knowing if she could even follow his instructions was a problem for her.

"Don't listen to him, Hermione!" Draco pleaded with her as he glared menacingly at his father.

Lucius waved his hand quickly at Draco, causing another rope to wrap around his mouth, silencing him. He placed his full attention on Hermione, leering at her in a way that was making her immensely uncomfortable.

"I could always cast an imperio on you." Lucius suggested as he twirled his wand between his fingers.

Conjuring up all the Gryffindor courage she could muster, she quickly raised her wand to Lucius, casting a defensive spell. Unfortunately, the skilled dueler laughed and with a wave of his hand, the spell bounced off of him.

"You really think Voldemort was the most powerful wizard in the world?" Lucius seethed as he stepped closer to Hermione, constantly deflating all of her spells as she backed up away from him. "The only thing that fool knew how to do was make fucking horcruxes. No, I am the most powerful wizard in the world!"

He quickly cast a body binding spell on Hermione, causing her to stand straight and stare at him with her own terrified eyes. No matter how much she tried, Hermione couldn't break free of the spell. A warm sensation began to pass through her body, causing her to feel even more uncomfortable. The worst part was...the heat was increasing to an unbearable rate. She was feeling as if she was being suffocated.

"Can you bear it?" Lucius smirked. "It's my own little twist on the Petrificus Totalus spell."

Draco growled angrily as he noticed the painful look in Hermione's eyes. He needed to do something, but what? He was tied to a wall, his options was limited. But seeing the woman, he loved the most in this messed up world, being tortured by his own father was instilling something in him that he had never felt before. It was growing inside him...a surge of power that was almost mind-consuming.

Lucius pulled his eyes away from Hermione for a second to glance back at his son. Draco had become unusually quiet and now he knew why. He remembered that confused look. He was 17 himself when he saw that look reflected on his own face.

"No…" Lucius whispered. "It supposed to skip a generation!"

A flash a blue light erupted from Draco, as his binds snapped. He dropped to the floor, landing on his feet, as the power surging through him caused him to finally use wandless magic for the first time. It was the type of magic that was rare to many witches and wizards. The most powerful ones, especially those from pureblood families, were able to use it after a lot of practice. Draco, feeling the power of his magic, glared at his father before wandlessly casting a spell to throw him against the wall and pin him there.

Once Lucius was pinned, the spell on Hermione broke, freeing her of the unbearable pain she had just endured. She collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily as her body began to slowly cool down from the incurred heat.

"Draco…" she said softly as she lifted her head to see that Draco was wandlessly choking his father. "He...he needs to go to Azkaban…"

"Azkaban is too good for him." Draco stated in a deep dark voice that Hermione had never heard before. It should have frightened her, but to her surprise, it didn't.

The sound of doors being thrown open echoed around them as Kingsley, Dawlish, Williamson, Harry and even Luna arrived to the scene. Everyone was stunned in silence as they watched Lucius Malfoy being held up against the wall and seemingly choking to death. Kingsley was the first to jump into action. He slowly stepped over to Draco, who was glaring intently at Lucius with his fists clenched, and placed a gently hand on his shoulder.

"Let him pay for his sins, Draco...in Azkaban." Kingsley said softly.

But Draco didn't budge. Kingsley glanced back at Hermione, who was still curled up on the floor, breathing heavily. She took a deep breath, nodded to Kingsley and slowly rose to her feet, walking over to Draco. She placed herself in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her head to his chest.

"Come back...Draco...come back to me now." she whispered loud enough for only him to hear.

Her voice, somehow, reached the back of Draco's mind, pulling him out of his concentrated state. He breathed out a long breath as the power he felt quickly began to dissipate. He lowered his eyes to Hermione as his father tumbled to the floor in a heap. Kingsley and Dawlish jumped into action, binding Lucius and taking hold of his wand.

"Hermione…" Draco choked out as tears began to fall from his eyes.

"It's over, my love. For us...it's _**now**_ over." She said soothingly as she tightened her hold on him.

"I need...I can't be in this...house...anymore." Draco mumbled as he allowed Hermione to pull him away from the room.

"Hermione." Kingsley called out. "We're going to need a formal explanation for what happened here."

"Yes, but not today." Hermione stated as she gripped Draco's hand and apparated them to her parents house.

She couldn't look around at the familiar place for too long. She couldn't stop to remember some of her fond memories or wonder about her parents at the moment. She needed to take care of Draco first. She pulled him into the house and gasped as she quickly realised that her house had been trashed completely.

"So they did come." Hermione breathed out.

"Yes." Draco nodded, glancing around the house weakly. "They did it a week after your parents left. I didn't know how to tell you. Your parents are safe though. That...I made sure of."

Hermione nodded her head and helped him up the stairs to the bedrooms. She placed him to lean against the wall as she pulled out her wand and began to fix her room, returning it to normal before helping Draco to the bed. She covered him with a blanket and sat on the edge of the bed, watching his eyes slowly droop close as he gave into his sleep. She knew that him using wandless magic had taken a lot out of him. He looked so drained and weak that she wasn't sure what she could do to help him besides ensuring that he got some much needed rest.

Once he was breathing normally while sleeping, she got up and walked around the house, taking in all the damage that had been done to her home. Using her wand, she quickly fixed everything that was pretty easy to fix, and within an hour, all the bedrooms were livable once more. She went to the fireplace to complete her final task. She activated it and pulled out some floo powder from her trusty satchel, throwing it in and calling out her destination.

She stepped out of the fireplace into a silent Grimmauld Place. The lights had been dimmed. She made her way into the kitchen since it seemed to be fully lit. She saw Narcissa and Sirius sitting across from each other, each silent and nursing a cup of tea. There seemed to be no animosity between the two, which Hermione was grateful for.

She stepped into the room, meeting Sirius' eyes before turning slowly to face Narcissa. She was grateful then that her pseudo-mother seemed to be more than alright. Narcissa stood up, gracefully at first, before running over to Hermione and engulfing her in a tight hug that was rather unbecoming for a pureblood witch.

"Thank the Gods that you are alright my dear." Narcissa whispered into her ear.

"Are you feeling better?" Hermione wondered. "Lucius didn't harm you...too much?"

"Thankfully, no." she smiled gratefully at Hermione. "You and Draco arrived just before he could do any real damage. Is Draco with you?"

"No." Hermione said softly. "Some things happened at the Manor after we saved you. He's at my parents old house...resting."

"What happened?" Narcissa demanded.

"I think he tapped into some rare power that gave him the ability to fully use wandless magic." Hermione explained.

Sirius slowly rose from his chair as Hermione words were spoken. He knew what Hermione was speaking of. It was the kind of power that even the Black family line possessed. Draco being both of Black and Malfoy descent meant that he was more powerful that anyone would have imagined. But, that level of power was very draining, not only on the users magic but also on the users life force.

"You need to get Severus to Draco." Sirius ordered as Narcissa stood motionless in a sort of daze. "Draco's life depends upon it!"

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Happy New Year everyone! I'm glad that many of you are still liking the story. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter! See you all soon!**_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

No time was wasted as Hermione apparated straight into the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts. Madame Pomfrey jumped slightly as Hermione appeared in front of her. She was having an unusual rest in her office, enjoying the brief peace and quiet before she returned to her patients in the main room. The loud pop from Hermione's apparition caused her to sit up quickly, shaking her head and getting back into healer mode.

"Miss Granger, is there a reason why you decided to apparate into my personal office?" Madame Pomfrey snapped.

"Severus! Is he awake? How is he? I need him! Draco's in trouble!" Hermione rushed out, a resounding fear could be detected in the tone of her voice.

Madame Pomfrey quickly stood up and crossed the room to the door, throwing it open and heading straight for her quarters where Professor Snape was quietly resting. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, staring at the awakened professor.

"Poppy, the definition of rest for me is to not be disturbed. I trust you, of all people, should know and respect that." Severus snapped before he noticed Hermione hovering behind Madame Pomfrey's frame. The look on Hermione's face gave him everything he needed to know. He sat up quickly, wincing slightly as he reached for his cloak. "Who is it, Granger and where are they?"

"Draco. My house." Hermione automatically responded.

"I trust you are strong enough to apparate the both of us there?" Severus glanced at her once he could stand again.

"Yes." she breathed out as she stepped past Madame Pomfrey and took a hold of his hand.

"Thank you, for your help, Poppy. But we both know I can manage now." Severus gave her an uncharacteristic wink before a loud pop sounded, indicating their apparition away.

"You've cleaned up the house." Severus noted as they appeared in her living room.

"He's upstairs." Hermione walked to the staircase, ignoring Severus' comment. Her mind was strictly on Draco. Nothing could distract her.

It didn't take Severus longer than three seconds to figure out what was going on with Draco. He had been the one to help Lucius when he had first gained his full powers.

"I need to take his clothes off. Open the windows, Hermione. His body needs to cool down. Then, you need to go to my classroom...in my storage room...there's a potion you need to find." Severus said as he rushed forward, ignoring his own pain, to undress Draco.

Hermione rushed to the windows of the room, throwing them open, letting the cool air seep in, chilling them all to the bone, before turning back to see a now naked Draco, laying on her bed. Severus noticed her staring and smirked to himself at the red tinge in her cheeks. She will still innocent, which surprised him that he even cared about that.

"The potion you are looking for is in a blue glass bottle. The potion itself is the color of midnight black, and the label on it will be 'Fons Vitae'. Do you understand?" Severus asked.

"Yes." she nodded her head vigorously. "I'll leave now then?"

"If you want him to live, yes!" he snapped.

Hermione stepped away quickly, moving into the hallway before closing her eyes and allowing herself to apparate from her house, back to Hogwarts. This time she apparated herself into Snape's Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom. She spotted the storage room almost hidden away by an intricate tapestry. Her legs moved her into the storage room as she began to look for the potion. The first thing that surprised her was the amount of potions Snape had kept in his room, even though he was no longer the potions professor.

She scanned through them, one by one, biting down on her lower lip in frustration as the potion she was looking for seemed to be nowhere. She slammed her fists against the wall of his storage room in anger before seeing the secret compartment next to the potions case. She opened the compartment and found 4 bottles of the Fons Vitae potion. Deciding to play it safe, she took all four bottles with her.

Once the bottles were secured on her, she apparated back to her place, hoping she wasn't too late. She appeared in her living room once more, running up the stairs to her room where Severus was doing some intricate wand work over Draco's body.

"Hurry, he doesn't have much time." Snape called to her.

Hermione's entire body went stiff at the sight of Draco's paler than normal body. His chest was no longer rising and falling like normal. In fact, he looked as if he was barely breathing. Hermione rushed forward with the bottles in her hand.

"You got them all...oh child...you were only supposed to bring one." Snape shook his head at her as he uncorked one of the bottles, leaning Draco's head up and pouring barely a sip down his throat.

A blue glow erupted from Draco's body causing Hermione to gasp in surprise. Severus stood up fully, taking her arm and leading her out of the room as the glow remained on Draco.

"Let him rest now, Granger." he said gently to her. "You need rest as well. Go to your parents room and lay down. You don't always have to look after everyone, you know."

"Not everyone...but Draco...always." she choked back her tears.

Severus stared intently at Hermione, trying to see if she was being truthful. There was no doubt in his mind that his godson was deeply in love with the smartest witch of his year, but he was always a bit doubtful of Hermione if he was being honest. He had never known another muggle to endure the stress and complications that Hermione and Draco were given. In fact, not even his precious Lily could have handled and survived what Hermione and Draco had been through.

However, now, staring at this strong willed young woman, he knew...she was in love with his Godson. He turned to look at Draco, noting that the color was slowly returning to his face. He waited until Hermione left the room like he had ordered before sitting on the edge of the bed, near Draco's head. He bent down until he was near Draco's ear.

"This one...she genuinely loves you, Draco. Don't give her up. Don't lose her. You'll regret it for the rest of your life. You'll end up like me." Severus whispered before pulling back.

He stood up, cleared his throat and left the room, leaving Draco to rest peacefully.

Nightmares. Everytime she closed her eyes...the nightmares came. So many of her fellow students had died...so much pain and sacrifices had been made. Her face had gone white as she dreamt of the dead bodies that had littered the floor of the Great Hall after the battle. She didn't know it, but while she was screaming in her dreams, she was screaming in reality to.

Hermione clung to the sheets as her body was thrown back and forth on the bed by her own unknown accord. A pair of strong arms encircled her body and pulled her up against a hard chest. Thinking, subconsciously, that she was being kidnapped, she fought...tooth and nail...against the person, throwing punches at the chest.

"It's me, my love." Draco's voice washed over her, causing her to instantly still her movements. "You're safe. It's over...it's all over. We survived Hermione...we survived it all…"

She wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming about this moment, but she refused to open her eyes. A waterfall of fresh tears began to flow down her cheeks, causing Draco to pull away slightly so he could cup her cheeks in his hands.

"My love, open those beautiful eyes and look at me. I'm real." Draco breathed out.

Hermione gulped and hiccuped slightly before slowly opening her eyes to meet the gray ones possessed by the love of her life. The fists she had formed that were pressing into his chest turned into flattened palms before she gripped onto the thin shirt he was wearing, tugging at it as if trying to confirm that he was real. Her brain began to work quickly after that.

"Draco! Why aren't you resting?" Hermione wondered as she pulled away to turn her head and wipe her eyes. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

"I woke up hours ago, my love." he explained. "It's already the next day...next afternoon to be specific."

"What?!" Hermione's eyes widened. "I've been asleep for almost a full day?! How are you even better?"

"The potion Severus gave me is a replenishing life source potion." Draco explained, knowing she wouldn't do anything until he answered her questions. "It's not...known...to many. He created it right after he graduated from Hogwarts. Only he knows the recipe. One small sip will replenish someone for days. Apparently what I went through is rather common among strong wizards and witches. Particularly pure bloods. If Severus hadn't given it to me though...I would have died sometime in the night."

"Oh Draco!" Hermione sat up more and threw herself at him, clinging to him as the idea of never being with him again washed over her.

"It's alright my love...you saved me...you've always saved me." Draco reached up and cupped her cheeks. "You believed in us even when I thought all hope was lost. I could never love another person as much as I love you Hermione Granger. I don't want to go anywhere without you by my side anymore. Live with me. Be with me. Marry me. Stay with me, forever, please?"

"Yes...yes...yes to all of it, Draco." Hermione began to shed a new set of tears...happy tears. "It's always been you. It will always be you. I don't want to exist in this world without you by my side. I need you...I've always needed you. You're not just my best friend, Draco Malfoy, you're my everything."

Draco had heard enough. No other words were spoken as he slid a hand into Hermione's messy hair and pulled her closer, covering her lips with his. Hermione responded desperately, leaning herself up to deepen the kiss. The time was right...finally. They were both ready. It was a long time coming...they had been patient...they had put others and world before themselves. It was time for them now. Just them. Always them…

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I am back from my hiatus and ready to continue the story. Thank for you those who sent me encouraging messages. I will be updating every Friday/Saturday! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts!**_


	25. Author's Message

Author's Note:

Hello Everyone!

First off, I will like to thank everyone who has kept up with this story and who's fallen in love with my version of Hermione and Draco.

In my last chapter, I posted the lemon scene that got mixed reviews. While I love criticism, I do not like being threatened. After receiving a few private messages, asking me to either take down the scene or risk being reported, all because of a few words that I used in the scene, I have decided to just end the story here. I will write an Epilogue this week and post it on Friday.

To those who were offended by the words I used in my scene, I apologize, but offending you was not my intent. I belong to the BDSM community and those words used are words that I am rather familiar with.

So, in summary, to save my story from getting potentially deleted, I will be taking down the last chapter and posting an epilogue instead on Friday.

However, this is not the end of my writing. In fact, I would love if you guys can comment another couple you will like to see a story about and I will start writing one.

Again, sorry for offending those I unintentionally offended, and sorry to those who will be hurt by the discontinuing of this story. The silver lining is that the epilogue will cover all lose ends.

Looking forward now though to seeing what couples you guys want me to write about next.

Thank you again, to everyone for reading and loving my story, despite its flaws.

-SYP


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